Wood of O's Mark to be honoured for dramatic canal rescue

A quiet midweek visit to Ballycommon House turned into a heroic rescue by Wood of O man Mark Egan in March 2010. Today (Tuesday) 34-year-old Mark is to be recognised for his courage in saving a man who fell into the canal at Ballycommon Bridge near Tullamore.

Along with 36 other rescuers who between them saved 36 lives, Mark will be honoured with a Seiko Just in Time Award at Irish Water Safety’s National Awards Ceremony at Dublin Castle from 3pm.

“It was a week night. It could have been a Tuesday or Wednesday,” Mark said, remembering the night that had begun with only a couple of people along with barman Gerry McGrath in Ballycommon House.

It was Gerry who initially spotted a hat in the water, and then a body lying face down. “I let a roar,” Gerry said.

“I went down and he was floating down the canal,” Mark remembers. “I just hopped in after him,” he said, adding that while he was able to swim, he “wouldn’t be used to swimming at 1.30am in the morning in the dark at about minus two degrees”.

After Mark successfully got the unconscious man to the canal edge and Gerry helped drag both of them to land, Mark - who luckily had been trained in how to use a defibrillator in the weeks coming up to the incident - performed CPR with the aid of a defibrillator until emergency services arrived. The man went on to make a full recovery.

“Mark did a fair job that night,” Gerry told the Offaly Independent. “He came running up and without thinking stripped down, got straight into the water and got the man to the bank. He never stopped.”

Mark has since unfortunately suffered an accident that has left him unable to work. A forestry chainsaw operator, he suffered a number of serious injuries including a broken spine and ribs and a punctured lung when a tree fell on him last year.

Following a three and a half month stay in hospital, Mark now has two rods in his spine and walks with the aid of a stick. Though his working days are over, he can still look on the bright side and says he’s lucky not to be paralysed.

Mark is modest about the award he’s to receive today, and said recognition should also be given to his companions on the night.

“It was only the luck of the draw on the night someone could help,” he said. “I wouldn’t be going around bragging about it.”

He’ll be accompanied by his girlfriend Mandy Murray, twelve-year-old daughter Lauren Gilligan and parents Michael and Bernadette today, when Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and Environment, Community and Local Government Fergus O’Dowd will present him with his award.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony Minister O’Dowd said that while the average of 140 drownings per year in Ireland is too many, the figure would have been even higher but for the dramatic efforts of these individuals who saved others from drowning and the ongoing work of volunteers teaching swimming and rescue skills.

“I appeal to all adults to make themselves more aware of the dangers in, on and around water,” the Minister added. “It only takes seconds for tragedy to strike and this can so easily be avoided if people take responsibility for their own safety by learning about the hazards.”