The young man who saved a young baby in the Donegal drowning disaster has started a new chapter in his life after opening up his own restaurant.
Heroic Davitt Walsh said he hopes his new cafe with will give added direction in his life six months after the events which turned his life upside down.
Davitt, aged 30, from Kerrykeel, is still coming to terms with becoming a well-known face, after he tried to rescue a drowning family off the coast of Inishowen last March.
The former League of Ireland footballer was enjoying a Sunday afternoon stroll with girlfriend Stephanie Knox when the horrific tragedy occurred.
A family out from across the border in Derry suffered a terrifying experience when their jeep slipped off Buncrana Pier into the waters of Lough Swilly.
Davitt and his staff.
Without a thought for his own safety Davitt stripped to his underwear and swam out to the sinking jeep.
He managed to save tiny baby Riognach Anne from the jeep but the jeep soon sank killing all remaining five passengers.
Sean McGrotty, 46, his sons Evan (8) and 12-year-old Mark, Ruth Daniels (57) and 14-year-old Jodie Lee Daniels all drowned in the tragedy.
For the past six months Davitt has been treated as a hero and only recently received a Pride of Ireland Award for his brave rescue.
Last night Davitt said he is coping with life since the events of March 20th last.
He says he hopes opening Cafe Davitt in the heart of Letterkenny will give him more focus and allow him to get on with his life.
“I am trying to keep busy and get on with my life as best I can. The opportunity came up to open the cafe and I decided it was the right thing to do.
“I need some direction in my life and I have put my heart and soul into preparing and opening the business over the past six weeks or so.
“I have learned a lot in recent weeks and I’m really going to give it a go. I have received tremendous support for my family.
“I have only been opened a few hours but the support from people has been just amazing. People have traveled from near and far to wish my well and I am so thankful of that,” he said.
Davitt admits that he is still trying to cope with the aftermath of the events of that fateful Sunday afternoon when his life changed forever.
He has received professional help in learning to cope with dealing with the trauma.
“I have learned how to cope with it and I am getting better. If I think about what happened I try not to relive it but to just accept that it happened,” he said.
But for the meantime Davitt knows that getting on with his life and working six days a week will keep him busy.
“The cafe will open from Monday to Saturday so at last I get Sunday off to play football. Hopefully I’ll need a break on Sunday because we’ll have been so busy during the week,” he smiled.
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