‘THEY CALL HIM A HERO — BUT HE WENT BACK TO BEING A KID WITH NOTHING’: Irish Gran’s Praise of 13-Year-Old Swimmer Ends With a Heartbreaking Truth
‘They’re all heroes’ – Irish gran hails brave grandson, 13, after brutal four hour swim to save family in Australia
THE Irish gran of swim hero Austin Appelbee has hailed her teen grandson for saving their family.
The 13-year-old lad swam for FOUR hours to raise the alarm after his mother and two siblings were swept out to sea in Western Australia.
The beach in Quindalup where Austin swam for four hours through choppy waters to get help for his familyCredit: AFP
Brave Austin has been hailed a ‘hero’Credit: AP
Austin made it across 4km of shark-infested waters after strong winds pushed their inflatable kayak and paddleboards offshore.
At first, the teenager tried to paddle back to shore in the kayak to get help after his mum Joanne — originally from Carrickmacross, Monaghan — decided this was their only chance of survival.
Austin set off alone on the inflatable kayak before eventually abandoning it as it took on water and also ditching his life jacket to commit to an exhausting swim through very rough seas.
Speaking from her home in Magheracloone, Carrickmacross today Doreen Cunningham said she believes her daughter Joanne and grandchildren Beau, 12, and Grace, eight, would not have survived another 30 minutes but for Austin’s amazing feat.
Doreen, 80, who lives with her husband Patrick, said they were both awake since they got the news last Saturday.
She said: “I haven’t slept since Saturday — when Joanne left the hospital and rang me to tell me the story.
“Loads of things were going through my head. I was picturing myself in that situation and just wondering what I’d do.
“Thank God, they got saved.
“Austin is a very quiet and good child and he offered to go for help. He kept telling his mother that he would make it and get them all help.”
She added: “I’m so proud of them all. I last saw them when I visited Australia in November two years ago and I’ll be seeing them again soon one way or another — whether they come to Ireland or we go out to see them.
‘FIGHTING ROUGH SEAS’
“They are all heroes.” Joanne, who has lived in Australia for 22 years with the three children and her husband Justin, also opened up on the difficult decision she was forced to make.
Speaking to RTE News, she said: “It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.
“I had my little daughter Grace, she was only eight, and Beau 12, Austin of course being 13 and myself, I couldn’t leave them there to go back to shore.
“So I had to ask Austin if he could try and make his way back to raise the alarm.
Austin’s mum and two siblings were swept out to sea in Western AustraliaCredit: AP
Austin Appelbee, right, with his brother, Beau, left, his mother, Joanne, second left, and sister GraceCredit: AP
“I didn’t expect it to be such a long, drawn-out process, but we’re all here to tell the tale. So that’s the main thing.”
Austin described “fighting rough seas” while wearing a life jacket.
He said: “After two hours, I removed the life jacket, to help me swim more efficiently.
“The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. I just kept thinking, Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.’
‘REALLY SCARED’
“I thought I saw something in the water and I was really scared and I was thinking in my head I was going to make it through.
“And then I finally I made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach — I just collapsed.” However, with no help available on the beach, brave Austin got up again and RAN around 2km to a phone to get help at around 6pm.
The family drifted away from Quindalup beach, Western Australia, and had been in the water for approximately 10 hours when they were finally rescued.
I thought I saw something in the water and I was really scared and I was thinking in my head I was going to make it through.
Austin Appelbee
Joanne and her two children were around 13km from the shore — clinging to the paddleboards in the pitch dark.
‘MIRACLE WE MADE IT’
The mum also praised her two younger children — Beau and Grace — for being “little heroes” throughout the ordeal.
She said: “It was nothing short of a miracle that we made it.
“We had no food, no water, we fell in [to the water] so many times, the waves were so high and those kids just kept holding on.
“And when it got dark, that’s when it really hit home, we might not make it.”
Joanne, who lives in Perth, said seeing the rescue team was “the most fantastic feeling”.
A Western Australia Police spokesman said: “Thankfully, all three people were wearing their life jackets, which contributed to their survival.
Grace Walsh reflects on ‘memories you make’ after iconic Kilkenny career
“But the actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough.
“His determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings.”
Strong winds pushed Austin and his family’s inflatable paddleboards and kayak offshore at Quindalup, in south-western AustraliaCredit: AP
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