We don't know that they're idiots - there may have been a freak wind, wave or current .....

The young women usually went swimming or paddleboarding on Silver Strand beach, but it had been closed due to Covid-19 so they went to Furbo which they would not have known so well.

Ellen Glynn, an experienced paddleboarder, who survived 15 hours at sea, has said that while she was a “bit shook up” she was feeling good after the ordeal. Ellen also told that this had been the first time she had not brought her mobile phone in a water proof bag.

The two young women were only a few minutes in the water when they realised that they had drifted. The wind was rising and they were finding it difficult to get back to shore. Despite shouting to attract attention on the beach (where Sara’s mother was waiting for them), they could not be heard over the wind.

They immediately tied the two boards together and thought that the alarm would be raised quickly and they would be found that night. They saw a boat in the distance and began screaming, but they could not be heard over the wind. They also saw the rescue helicopter sweep overhead and thought it would see them because of the high viz strips on their life jackets but it didn't.

Initially, the water had been warm, but when the sun went down it was very cold with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. “We were absolutely frozen. We were worried about how cold it was. We were shaking like leaves.” At all times they thought they would be found, she said.

Despite their predicament they managed to fall asleep on their boards “for a few seconds at a time” and when they awoke the waves “were huge, they were splashing on us.”

When the sun came out it got a bit brighter, but they could not see far because it was foggy, Ellen added. They realised that the waves could push them out into the Atlantic so they tried to paddle towards an island, but the waves were too high. They were all the time looking for something to which they could tie themselves and then they say the buoy on a lobster pot.

“We tied our boards to it and then took turns to sleep on our boards. In hindsight it is weird that we just stayed so calm. We just thought ‘we can’t drift out there’ and didn’t expand on that.” Ellen used the strap from her paddle board to clip their boards onto the lobster pot buoy.

They also attached the rope leads on each board (which are there so that paddle boarders do not get separated from their boards) to the other’s board. “When we weren’t paddling, we were holding on to each other’s board.” She admitted that their perception of time had become confused and they thought it was 5pm.

“We began to think that no one was looking for us, then we saw a boat and started paddling like crazy. We thought they were out fishing, but they said ‘you have no idea how many people are out looking for you.’ “We are so, so grateful.

While she remains in hospital, Ellen said she feels fine, but there was an issue with her muscle enzymes and she hopes to be released from hospital today or tomorrow morning at the latest.

Cousins Ellen Glynn (17) and Sara Feeney (23) met up on Saturday after the teenager was discharged from University Hospital Galway, where she was treated after being rescued.

The pair are now anxious to restore some semblance of normality to their lives after surviving 15 hours at sea, during which they drifted almost 30km from the shore before being found by a fisherman and his son.

For Ms Feeney, a return to normality might be going back to the summer job she has taken up after recently completing a psychology degree at NUI Galway, while Ellen will have no problem coming up with material for the standard ‘How I spent my summer holidays’ essay when she returns to Coláiste Iognaid in a few weeks.

“I think I will have plenty to write about on that,” said Ellen as she enjoyed her first full day back at the family home in Binn Bhán, Knocknacarra.