A teenage paddleboarder who was rescued from the sea off Galway with her cousin after a 15-hour ordeal is back home in Knocknacarra with her family.
Ellen Glynn, accompanied by her parents Johnny and Deirdre, spoke briefly to the media this afternoon, saying she was overjoyed to be home.
The 17-year-old and her parents thanked the fishermen who found her and all the rescue services and volunteers who took part in the wide-scale search for her and her 23-year-old cousin Sara Feeney.
Asked what she would say when she was reunited with the fishermen, Ellen said "We're just so, so grateful. I don’t even know what I’m going to say, because I just can’t even put it into words how grateful we are."
As to whether there was anything they were looking forward to now that Ellen was home, her mother said "Peace and quiet!", and that maybe they would go for a walk somewhere – before Ellen added "not near the ocean!"
Meanwhile the fisherman who found Ellen Glynn and Sara Feeney was relaxing at home with his wife Suzanne and daughters Ella, Abbi and Esme today.
Patrick Oliver located the pair with his son Morgan around lunchtime on Thursday after deciding to get involved in the search.
He remains humble about his heroic act saying the real heroes of the piece are Ellen and Sara.
"The girls did everything right. They stayed together, tied their paddle boards and attached them to a buoy. It's the best news story in a long while," he said.
Read more:
Family looking forward to celebrating cousins' rescue
'The wind was so strong nobody could hear us scream'
Father of rescued girl felt 'helpless' during search
Paddleboarding cousins recovering after sea rescue
