Irish Water Safety honoured 35 members of the public this afternoon at Dublin Castle for life saving.
The Irish Water Safety Council says their actions saved the lives of 22 people who got into difficulty.
Last year there were 91 drownings in Ireland, the lowest since 1936.
However, the water safety campaigners say the figure is still too high and has appealed to people to take more care in and around water.
Alcohol was a factor in a third of the drownings last year.
Singer Damien Dempsey was among those recognised at the ceremony today
Mr Dempsey went into the water in the River Slaney in Enniscorthy to help a man in difficulty on 22 June, having just arrived in the town to play a concert later that night.
Several gardaí have also been recognised including Garda David Fenton and Garda Caroline Guest.
They were on patrol in Castletownbere in Cork last May when they were received a call that a man had fallen into the water.
They rushed to the scene and while Gda Guest threw a lifebouy to the man, Gda Fenton secured a rope boarding ladder to the pier and climbed down into the water to the man.
They alerted a local lifeboat mechanic, Martin O'Donoghue, who launched a boat and brought the man to safety.
Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has appealed to people to make themselves more aware of the dangers in, on and around water.
"It only takes seconds for tragedy to strike and this can so easily be avoided if people take responsibility for their own safety by learning about the hazards".
