Davitt meets the baby he saved. Pic Joe Boland/NorthWestNewsPix
HERO Davitt Walsh has told of the heartbreaking moment he let go of a 12-year-old boy’s hand in order to save baby Rioghnach-Ann from drowning.
Sean McGrotty, his sons Mark and Evan, mother-in-law Ruth Daniels and her teenage daughter Jodie-Lee all tragically died when their Audi Q7 car slipped off Buncrana Pier in March.
The 29-year-old footballer swam out and rescued the four-month-old from the arms of her tragic dad Sean.
But brave Davitt said Rioghnach-Ann’s brother Mark was gripping his hand as the car began to sink — and he was forced to make the heartbreaking decision to break away from the child in a bid to get Rioghnach-Ann to safety.
Speaking on ITV’s Should I Intervene? at the weekend, Davitt said: “I had the baby in one hand and the next thing the dad just went back into he car. He turned round to me and he just said: ‘Save the baby’.
“I still had Mark’s hand – and then I had to let go – he was going to pull me in as the car went down. It all happened in seconds.”
And Davitt said he didn’t think twice about hopping in the water to help the stricken family after his girlfriend spotted the family’s Audi.
Davitt recalled: “It was a really beautiful evening, so we decided to go down to the beach, get a few photos, just like a normal Sunday for us.”
“We’d been talking for a few minutes, and then decided to go home.
“That’s when 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!’”
“I’d already made the decision that I was going in while I was in our car – I was taking my clothes off, and I looked at the family and they were calling for the Coastguards, calling for help.
“We thought that we were just going to swim out to the car and bring the family in.”
The tragedy on Buncrana pier is currently under investigation by health and safety officials along with Gardai.
Last week Davitt and Louise James ran the Belfast City Marathon.
Sean McGrotty, Louise James with their children Mark, Evan and baby Rioghnach-Ann
