Bravery award for Mullingar men who saved child from burning house
Two Mullingar men who were hailed as heroes after rescuing a child from a burning house in Mullingar received National Bravery Awards on Friday at a ceremony in which 23 people who risked their own lives to aid others in peril were honoured.
Mark Kelly was awarded a silver medal and a certificate of bravery and Pat Weymes received a bronze medal and a certificate of bravery.
The two were fitting doors at a house at Newtown Lawns on Friday November 5, 2021, and as they were removing parts and fittings from their van, they noticed smoke coming from a house.
As they investigated, they were told there was a small child trapped in the house, so Mark Kelly covered his head with his jacket and tried repeatedly to get in through the front door, but was beaten back by the smoke and intense heat.
The house was by then full of smoke and flames and when the two men learned the toddler was in an upstairs room they decided to reverse their van up against the building. They climbed up on the van roof and despite the risk of the window blowing out, Mark smashed in the glass and climbed into the room.
The two men handed the toddler over to waiting neighbours.
Fire officers, who arrived on the scene within minutes, shook the hands of both men in appreciation of their efforts, recognising the child would have died if it had not been for their actions.
The awards were presented to Mark and Pat and the 21 others at a ceremony at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Seven certificates, 11 bronze medals and four silver medals were presented.
Speaking to guests at the ceremony, the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, TD, said: “This November day in Farmleigh is a day when we celebrate people who have made the world feel a little less dark, a little less dangerous and whose actions speak to the very best and noblest of impulses.
“This singular day marks moments where self-preservation was cast aside by our brave recipients as they risked their lives to help someone else.
“These moments matter, because in many cases, lives were saved that would have been lost. They matter because even when people were lost, in some of the awful tragedies we remember today, those people were not alone. They would have known and their families know, that someone was with them, someone was bravely and desperately trying to save them, to bring them home.”
The annual honours are awarded by Comhairle na Míre Gaile – the Deeds of Bravery Council – which was founded in 1947 to enable state recognition of exceptional acts of bravery. The council is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle and includes the Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, the Lord Mayors of Dublin and Cork, the Garda Commissioner, the President of the Association of City and County Councils, and the chairman of the Irish Red Cross.