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25th Aug 2021

‘Frostbit Boy’ rescued 4km off coast surrounded by dolphins near Kerry

Clara Kelly

you wouldn't be long getting frostbit

He was found surrounded by dolphins 4km off Castlegregory beach.

The man who was rescued off the coast of Tralee on Sunday night after being stuck in the water for 10 hours has turned out to be none other than the iconic ‘Frostbit Boy’, Ruairí McSorley.

The Derry teen who first went viral after a clip of him on the news in 2015 saw him saying the many-memed expression: “Oh god, you wouldn’t be long gettin’ frostbit”, has now hit headlines again after ending up stuck at sea for ten hours.

Gardaí were alerted to the incident at 10.24am on Sunday when a man walking his dog on a beach in Camp noticed clothes and shoes on the beach and alerted Valentia Coast Guard.

A man was later reported missing in the area while a search of the bay took place from 11am.

Almost ten hours after the authorities were alerted, Fenit Lifeboat saw the man surrounded by dolphins in the sea roughly three miles from Castlegregory just after 8pm.

McSorley had been swept to sea without any protective clothing and was brought ashore by the lifeboat and transferred to University Hospital Kerry.

McSorley confirmed that it was him who had been rescued to the Irish Independent on Wednesday, saying that he was attempting to make his way to Fenit lighthouse.

“It was only a matter of going into the hospital to heat up a bit,” McSorley, who had been suffering from hypothermia, told the publication.

This isn’t the fist time Ruairí has hit the headlines as you can see from all of these stories too.