“We will not stop looking until we bring him home.”
Those words, spoken quietly but with absolute conviction on the banks of the River Lee, have never left Kate Colbert. Five years on, they are the driving force behind a gruelling fundraising challenge aimed at supporting the volunteers of Mallow Search and Rescue (MSAR), the team she credits with bringing her best friend home.
Speaking to Cork Beo, Kate, originally from Midleton, is taking on a 169km swim in just 56 days to raise vital funds and awareness for MSAR. Her motivation is deeply personal. In February 2020, her childhood friend Cormac Ryan lost his life after falling into the River Lee following a night out in Cork city.
What followed was a four-day search that Kate describes as the longest days of her life. Throughout that time, Mallow Search and Rescue searched relentlessly, day and night, combing the river while also supporting Cormac’s family and friends on the ground.
“I don’t ever remember Mallow Search and Rescue going home,” Kate recalled. “They were there constantly. At one point it was getting dark and I was terrified they’d say they’d stop for the night. Instead, one of them came over, took my hand and said, ‘Kate, we will not stop looking until we bring him home.’ Every time I tell that story, it still takes my breath away.”
Cormac was recovered from the river on Thursday, February 13th, 2020. Kate said MSAR handled the recovery with “absolute professionalism and dignity,” ensuring privacy for the family at an unbearable moment.
Cormac’s father Brendan Ryan, speaking to Paul Byrne on Cork’s 96FM Opinion Line, previously described the search as “the worst four days of my life” but said the recovery brought an indescribable sense of relief and closure.
“You have no idea of the relief that we felt when we heard that Cormac had been found,” he said. “Even though he was gone, they had found him and he was somewhere we could come and visit. For that, I will be eternally grateful to Mallow Search and Rescue. People must realise this is a totally voluntary group. They don’t receive one red cent from the state, which is a crying shame.”
Kate’s fundraising challenge, undertaken at the Garryvoe Hotel pool five days a week, has already raised close to €3,000, with a target of at least €5,000. She hopes her efforts will help ensure MSAR remains well resourced into the New Year.
“I hope nobody ever has to need them,” she said. “But the reality is that people will. My main goal is to raise awareness of this incredible team and the work they do.”
That work continues year-round. More recently, Mallow Search and Rescue reunited a dog with its owner after the family pet got into difficulty in troubled waters in Castlepark, Mallow.
