The daring rescue of a panic-stricken family is all in a day's work for the Dublin Fire Brigade. Only this time, the survivors were a mallard and her nine chicks who were trapped in a lock of the Royal Canal yesterday.
Fire officer Mr Paddy O'Mahony of Phibsboro Fire Station said they had been alerted to the emergency at Cross Guns Bridge by a passer-by.
"The ducklings had got stuck in the lock and would have eventually swum around and drowned unless they were fished out. Normally we would have get in touch with the DSPCA but they weren't available so we said we'd better sort it out ourselves."
A unit of the fire brigade was deployed along with an emergency vehicle containing a floating platform designed for water rescues. While officers collected the chicks, the mallard flew off - posing a fresh problem of reunification.
"The mother was in a bit of a frenzy, and we had to give her a chance to land. Eventually, she settled down on a path next to the canal and we released a couple of the chicks.
When they ran towards her we released a few more. There was just one fella who wasn't so good. He was kind of knackered from all the paddling. So we had to carry him across to his mother. When she heard them calling she gathered up and then off they went." Not a word of thanks, it appeared. But that didn't bother the firemen.
"We did our best to facilitate the ducks," said Mr O'Mahony. "It worked out OK, and that's the important thing."
