It was the devastating tragedy that shook us all to our cores, and while Davitt Walsh has emerged as the hero of the Buncrana Pier accident, he has admitted to being haunted by the loss of the five family members who passed away.
Davitt, who managed to rescue Louise James’ infant daughter Rioghnach-Ann from the waters of Lough Swilly, has opened up about his heartbreak over letting go of her son Mark’s hand.
Speaking on ITV’s Should I Intervene?, Davitt recounted the horrific events of that evening, after his partner Steph spotted the car in the water.
“Steph just happened to look back. I don’t know why she looked back, but she did, and said, ‘There’s a car in the middle of the water!’” he recalled.
After swimming out to the car, Davitt was urged by Louise’s partner Sean to ‘save the baby’. And, while he did manage to rescue the tot, he is still haunted by the memory of having to let young Mark go.
“I still had Mark’s hand – and then I let go – he was going to pull me in as the car went down. It all happened in seconds…I didn’t really take it on that I had saved the baby. I just looked at the negative – I’d left the family out there and I couldn’t help them,” he added.
Davitt recently participated in the Belfast Marathon alongside Louise, with the pair raising funds in memory of the late Evan, who had muscular dystrophy.
