Heartbroken mum pays tribute to heroic son who died while rescuing swimmers at Cork beach

The mother of the man who died after heroically running into the sea to rescue swimmers who got into difficulty at a beach in Co Cork has paid tribute to his son.

Stephen O’Callaghan, aged 55 from Ashburton Hill in St Luke’s, Cork City, died after running into the sea to rescue young swimmers who got into difficulty at Inch Beach in East Cork.

His heartbroken mother, Kathleen O’Callaghan, paid tribute to her son.

“This is my son Stephen O'Callaghan who lost his life in saving two young boys. May God and his mother Mary watch over you  Stephen, I Love you. Your broken-hearted mother,” Ms O’Callaghan wrote on social media.

The Coast Guard was alerted on Friday at 3pm and initiated a search and rescue mission with RNLI rescue boats and the Coast Guard helicopter was tasked to the scene.

“Four people were rescued from the water by members of the public; however, one person was subsequently recovered from the water requiring medical attention and was transferred to the National Ambulance Service who had also deployed to the scene,” a Department of Transport spokesperson said.

Gardai had confirmed that a man, aged in his 50s, died.

“Arrangements will now be made for a post mortem and the local coroner has been notified,” a Garda spokesperson said.