Tipperary woman honoured with National Bravery Award for rescuing two people from River Suir

A Tipperary woman has been honoured with a National Bravery Award for saving two young people from drowning in the River Suir over 20 years ago when she was just 16-years-old.

Susan Hackett was announced as the recipient of a Silver Medal and a Certificate of Bravery at the National Bravery Awards ceremony in Farmleigh House in Dublin this afternoon (Friday, November 12). 

She showed extraordinary courage when she jumped from a bridge into the River Suir near Newcastle on the afternoon of June 4, 1995 and rescued two young people who got into difficulty in the river while swimming. 

Ms Hackett was among 25 people from counties Cavan, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galtway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford and the USA honoured at the ceremony for their outstanding courage. The awards were presented by Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó'Fearghaíl. 

The National Bravery Awards were set up in 1947 to recognise those who risked their lives to save others and are administered by Comhairle na Míre Gaile – the Deeds of Bravery Council – which is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle.

The Ceann Comhairle said: “The deeds we honour here are exceptional acts of bravery. They mark the moments where people saved the lives of others through their actions, risking their own lives doing so.

“What these awards celebrate is the noblest impulse within a human being, to risk their life in order to save another. We honour people who leaped into stormy seas, who braved swollen rivers, climbed down cliffs, assisted at road traffic collisions and performed other remarkable deeds. Through their actions there are people alive today, who would undoubtedly have died.”