A Donegal-based children’s author has released a new book where fiction eerily resembled a real-life ordeal on Owey Island.
Malachy Doyle, who lives on Cruit, had a lucky escape from an island cave last year when he became stranded on a solo kayaking trip. He has countless people to thank for their role in a major rescue operation which saw him airlifted to hospital on that fateful day.
An award-winning author of 120 books, Malachy’s experience ironically mimicked his most recent work at the time. Molly and the Pirate Cave, part of the popular Molly series, saw the young protagonist facing a similar peril.
Molly and the Pirate Cave is due to be published on 17th September.
Looking back on his ordeal, Malachy tells Donegal Daily: “It was a beautiful late-Summer Sunday, September 10, 2023. The sea was flat calm, so I thought I’d take the kayak out. My wife was away, so I didn’t tell anyone. I won’t be out long, I thought – just over to Owey Island, maybe take a look in a cave or two, as I’d often done before…”
However, Malachy’s adventure took a turn when he went to take a look into one of the caves. He was about to retreat from the churning water when a freak wave hit him and overturned his boat, hurling him from the kayak.
Despite his best efforts over 30 minutes, Malachy had to let go of the kayak and clamber onto a ledge to attempt to seek help.
Thankfully, he had his phone in a Ziploc waterproof bag.
Despite the poor signal, Malachy eventually reached an emergency operator before the charge ran out.
All he could do then was wait and hope.
His heroes came in the form of the Rescue 118 helicopter crew assisted by Arranmore RNLI and Bunbeg Coast Guard. Eventually, it became safe enough for Arranmore’s smaller Y-boat inflatable to reach Malachy in the cave and he was airlifted to Letterkenny University Hospital within minutes.
The dramatic moment rescuers entered the narrow cave to retrieve the trapped kayaker. Pic and video: Brian McGowan/Brimac Security.
Malachy said: “The strange thing was, I’d already written Molly and the Pirate Cave, in which Molly, for the first time in the series, is the one in trouble rather than the one helping others in need. Andrew Whitson was already illustrating it. Molly gets trapped in a cave, with the tide rising. And now the same thing was happening to me! Be careful, o writer, of what you imagine. It might, just maybe, come true!”
Molly and the Pirate Cave tells the story of Molly who follows the sound of her lost dog into a pirate cave with her friend Bo. As the pair head deeper and deeper inside, the tide suddenly begins to rise. With some fast thinking from Molly and Bo, the pair scramble to safety and are rescued by the other islanders, along with Molly’s dog Gus.
Molly and the Pirate Cave is the seventh book in the series by award-winning author and illustrator team Malachy Doyle and Andrew Whitson, who are both from Belfast.
Malachy’s thrilling tale of adventure and community helps teach children about the dangers of caves and the tide, written by someone who knows about these dangers first-hand.
The book will be available in book stores from 17th September, published by Graffeg Books.
