Ruairi McSorley, who shot to fame as 'Frostbit Boy' six years ago, was rescued off the West Kerry coast on Sunday.
Now 24, the Derry native went for a swim near Camp on the Dingle Peninsula. His clothes were discovered on a beach at 8am and the Fenit RNLI boat was alerted.
He was found safe and well, swimming with dolphins four kilometres off the coast, later that evening by the RNLI.
"I saw Fenit lighthouse out in the water, and I said, right I’m going towards it," he told the Irish Independent.
"I wouldn’t have got in to start with if I didn’t know I was going to be grand."
Frostbit Boy rescued off Kerry by RNLI
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He added:
"I saw these black tails in the water, and I wasn’t sure were they dolphins or sharks,” he said.
"I just thought to myself, maybe it wouldn’t have been the worst idea to have googled this before I jumped in, but they were just dolphins.
"They wouldn’t have done any harm to you. I’d no problem with them."
While on his way to school during a biting January in 2015, McSorley was interviewed by UTV. "You wouldn't be long getting frostbit," he said. Frostbit Boy was born.
McSorley, who was working as a cruise ship entertainer prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, started living in Kerry last year.
Picture credit: Shutterstock.com