A 12-year-old boy christened Ronan, the Irish for "seal", has actually saved the life of a baby seal and was yesterday praised by the Irish Seal Sanctuary.
Ronan Cullen, from Rush, Co Dublin, sat beside the seal and prevented it from returning to the sea and certain death as he waited for members of the Seal Sanctuary to arrive.
"It took us three hours to get to Rush that November evening and but for Ronan staying with it and stopping it from going back into the sea, it would certainly be dead," said Mr Terry Flanagan, a spokesman for the sanctuary, which is based in Garristown, north Co Dublin.
Yesterday, Ronan was present when, watched by a large crowd, the seal was returned to the sea.
"He was just one month old and barely weaned when we think he got injured after being tossed about by a strong sea and came ashore on the beach at Rush," Mr Flanagan said.
Ronan Cullen said that he and his two friends, Daryl and Kurt Nugent, had spotted the seal, which was "crying and bleeding". The three boys sat with the seal, which Ronan christened "Hobbs", after the cartoon character, until Mr Flanagan arrived.
Ronan said that he was glad to see Hobbs being returned to the sea, because it was "better for him to go to sea than to be in the seal sanctuary".
Ronan's mother, Kate, kept a close eye on the boys while they sat with the seal. "We put a blanket over his head, because he was hissing and barking, and I brought them hot chocolate and pizza. Ronan is very good-natured and it was a typical thing for him to do."
As he watched the seal being released yesterday, Ronan added his support to plans by the sanctuary, which is run by volunteers, to open a national marine conservation centre in Fingal.