Some 55 people have received awards from Water Safety Ireland in recognition of the roles they played in saving 29 lives in 24 near-drowning incidents.
The SEIKO Just In Time Awards and Rescue Appreciation Awards were presented at an award ceremony at Dublin Castle.
"We are recognising true heroes, we have wonderful examples of individual work, teamwork, we also have members from the public, members of the gardaí," Water Safety Ireland CEO Joanne Walsh said.
One of the some 31 gardaí honoured was Garda Sarah Lynam, who responded to a call about a man in distress in the River Liffey in August 2022.
"I wasn't at the scene at the time," Garda Lynam said, but when she heard the call come through, she "ran from the GPO down to Bachelor's Walk".
"When I looked through the groves (of the boardwalk)...I saw that he was face down in the water," she added.
Garda Lynam, who is an experienced swimmer, said she that knew "it can come down to a matter or seconds" to save a person from drowning.
"So without a second thought, the belt came off and the stab vest came off and before I knew it I was in the water and thankfully then I was able to turn him over and swim to a ledge and he made a full recovery thank God," Garda Lynam said.
She said she was very grateful to her parents who brought her to swimming lessons from a young age.
"They got me to swimming every Saturday morning. I took it on then, I went into competitive swimming. I have always had a thing for swimming, I still swim now," Garda Lynam said.
"To have the ability to help someone else was amazing," she added.
Father and son Damien and Cillian Ginty from Tralee, Co Kerry, also experienced that feeling, when they worked together to rescue a kite surfer who was drifting out to sea at Banna Beach, and a woman who had entered the water to try to help.
Cillian was swimming at the beach when he noticed a surfing kite drifting out to sea with no sign of the kite surfer.
He then saw a woman entering the water with a lifebouy but noticed that she did not appear to be a strong swimmer.
"So I got a surf board and and I paddled out to make sure (the kite surfer was ok) and then my Dad (Damien) went in to make sure the woman was ok," the 16 year-old explained.
"I helped the lad who was kite surfing head back into shore because he wasn't strong enough, he was too tired to get back in himself," Cillian said.
Here again some water safety training had come into play.
"I've done a beach lifeguard course with water safety Ireland and a pool lifeguard course," the teenager said.
His father Damien said he was very proud of how his son reacted in the moment.
"It was a split second decision by Cillian and I am very very proud of him," Mr Ginty said.
On the shorefront in Buncrana, Co Donegal, in May this year, friends Rebecca Ebbs and Zara Reid also reacted speedily when they noticed two women in distress in the water.
"I heard screaming and then we looked in the water and we saw heads bobbing up and down out of the water," Ms Reid said.
"I throw my phone to a woman on the beach and told her to ring the guards. And then Rebecca went in and she got the first girl, and then there was another girl and she was out a wee bit further... and I swam in then and got the second girl," she said.
Ms Ebbs said when she swam out she shouted to the two women: "lie on your back".
"That's the first thing I knew to do because you can float," Ms Ebbs said.
When they got the women back to shore they noticed that the women were "shivering and were a bit blue around the lips."
"We put a blanket over them and then we waited with them until the guards came," Ms Ebbs said.
The two women said it was a "scary experience" but both felt proud that they had acted so quickly.
