“I was a bit scared but they needed help, so I just did it.”
Those were the words of a brave Limerick boy who crawled over broken glass and escaped from an overturned car in a ditch to save his mother and little sister.
Marc O’Connor from Mountcollins was just nine years old when, on a freezing cold morning, December 14, 2022, his mother’s car hit black ice and swerved across the road.
The car went through a hedge into a field and eventually landed in a drain below the road where it couldn’t be seen.
Marc’s mother suffered broken vertebrae and ribs and was pinned by the steering wheel, while his sister Sive was trapped.
Despite having an injury to his back, the brave little boy scrambled over broken glass, out the car window, and made his way across a field in search of help. When he got to the road, the brave young hero flagged down a school bus.
This week, he received a bravery award for his heroic deeds.
“I was sore but I waved my hands over my head and the driver stopped,” the now 10-year-old Marc told the Limerick Post.
“I was scared but they needed help, so I just did it. It was the right thing to do.”
Marc’s mother, Mary O’Donovan, told the Limerick Post that her son “was unbelievable. I was terrified after he left the car that some other car would hit the ice and mow him down but he was just so good. He even rang an ambulance”.
For his actions, Marc was invited to Farmleigh House where the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD, presented the National Bravery Awards to individuals who risked their own lives to aid others in peril.
The annual honours are awarded by Comhairle na Míre Gaile – the Deeds of Bravery Council – which was founded 76 years ago in 1947 to enable State recognition of exceptional acts of bravery.
Speaking about his heroic acts, Marc said: “I didn’t think it was a big deal, but after getting the award, I’m proud of myself now”.
