The US visitor who nearly lost his life after a wave swept him off the middle ledge at Poll na bPéist, Inis Mór, last month has described the details of his rescue.
As he recounts in an interview with RTÉ Radio 1's Countrywide on Saturday (October 24), and in The Irish Independent, Justin Francisco was sure he was “gone”.
Lucky Escape – US visitor Justin Francisco, pictured with his wife Deirdre Huang, recovering from injuries sustained when a wave swept him off a ledge at Poll na bPéist.
Had it not been for the quick response of visitors on the top ledge, the volunteer Aran Fire and Rescue crew and the Irish Coast Guard's Rescue 118 helicopter, the 38-year-old Ohio native believes he would have been swept into Poll na bPéist or out to sea.
Wave Warning – Powerful seas surge into Poll na bPéist, illustrating the dangers faced by Justin Francisco and his rescuers on the exposed limestone ledges of Inis Mór.
Rescue 118 search and rescue (SAR) paramedic Cormac Nott, who was winched down to rescue him, also pays tribute in the interview to the initial response of the Aran Fire and Rescue crew. Afloat previously reported on the bravery of the rescue crews.
Lifesaving Descent – Rescue 118 search and rescue paramedic Cormac Nott, who was winched down to save Justin Francisco as waves battered the cliffs at Poll na bPéist.
Francisco had headed out to take images from the middle ledge after his wife, Deirdre Huang (37), and mother-in-law had headed back to their jarvey.
Francisco, a former US National Guard serviceman, noticed large waves to the north and south but felt it was “easy to be complacent” about Poll na bPéist itself.
“I was taking more pictures of the Wormhole, trying to count the waves, the seventh wave and so on, trying to get that action shot where the water is coming in through the cave and through the blowhole,” he says.
“I don’t know when the awareness came, but there was definitely a point where I am looking out over the ocean and seeing the wave just coming up.”
“Once the wave hit, it lifted, I wasn’t touching the rocks anymore,” he says, and he felt himself falling headfirst for “longer than I should have”.
He says in the interview for RTÉ Countrywide that he isn't sure how long he was unconscious for, but had experienced unconsciousness before when he was intentionally “choked out” in army combat training.
“So I’ve had the experience before when your brain reboots,” he said.
The adrenaline took over. He found a corner, realised his right arm was badly injured, and used one of his feet to wedge himself into a crevice.
“Luckily the tour group up on top were yelling down to me, and from then on they were tremendously helpful and able to yell out when a wave was coming in.”
Safety First – Aran Islands RNLI crew members Rónán MacGiolla Pháraic and Noel Seoige urge visitors to Poll na bPéist to check sea conditions and never turn their backs on the waves
Fire Crew's Lifesaving Response
The Aran Fire and Rescue crew lowered a pre-tied rope to him and held him against the cliff as further waves battered him, assuring him that a rescue helicopter was on the way.
Although Francisco is partially deaf in one ear, he was able to hear both the fire crew and the tourists above, including their tour guide, Dave O’Connor, who raised the alarm after borrowing a phone that had some coverage, as there is normally no mobile phone coverage in that area of Inis Mór.
When Nott was lowered to save him, Francisco says he was “thrilled to see him”.
“I don’t know if I kissed him but that’s fine.”
Then a “real monster of a wave came in and got us”, sweeping both men towards Poll na bPéist and then back again. They were saved by the Aran Fire and Rescue crew's rope, held securely by a team wearing lifejackets.
His wife, Deirdre, observed the terrifying drama from the top ledge, where she was reassured by O’Connor.
She had returned to look for her husband and encountered the French couple they had met earlier. One of them had a bleeding face and said a young man had fallen down.
She could see the winch cable, initially loose and then going taut as the nose of the helicopter dipped slightly.
“I was like ‘oh my gosh…’”
Nott also recounts his role and how his winch operator, Gary Robertson, warned him of oncoming waves.
RNLI Warning to Visitors
RNLI Aran lifeboat crew members Rónán MacGiolla Pháraic and Noel Seoige say that Poll na bPéist is best viewed from the top cliff and that visitors should check locally about weather and sea conditions. The Aran Islands lifeboat launched as part of the multi-agency response.
If visiting, they should approach carefully, check whether the limestone is already wet, which suggests wave action, and ensure they are wearing proper footwear, as there are many trips and falls on the approach.
“And, if taking photos, never turn your back on the sea,” MacGiolla Pháraic warns.
Francisco and Huang are keen to thank all the emergency services, including the Aran Fire and Rescue crew, the RNLI Aran lifeboat which launched, and the Rescue 118 helicopter, along with O’Connor and visitors on the top cliff, University Hospital Galway staff and the Inis Mór community for “its wonderful response”.
Listen to the full interview on RTÉ Radio 1's Countrywide and read the account in The Irish Independent.
