The swimmer rescued off the Kerry coast on Sunday (22 August) after a lifeboat crew spotted him surrounded by a pod of dolphins is the star of a popular online video, it’s emerged.
As Independent.ie reports, Ruairí McSorley shot to internet stardom as ‘Frostbit Boy’ when a clip from a TV vox pop as he walked to school in the snow took off with millions of views in a matter of days.
He’s since applied his quirky mannerisms into a career as a cruise ship entertainer. But with that industry grounded amid the coronavirus pandemic, he relocated to the Dingle Peninsula from his home near Derry.
McSorley had been at sea for at least 12 hours when he was recovered by the crew of Fenit RNLI on Sunday evening and was rushed to hospital for treatment for hypothermia.
Now making his recovery at University Hospital Kerry, the 24-year-old explained how he made the spur-of-the-moment decision to drop his things on the beach at Castlegregory and swim out — one that’s never recommended in any water safety advice.
“I just jumped in, and that was it,” he said. “I saw Fenit lighthouse out in the water, and I said, right I’m going towards it. I wouldn’t have got in to start with if I didn’t know I was going to be grand.”
The Irish Independent has much more on the story HERE.
