The boy is believed to have been swept in by a powerful wave at the popular swimming spot last weekend, and his father entered the water to save him.
Brona Columb was walking in the area with her son, when they spotted the father and his child in the water and rushed to help.
“My son had actually just been commenting about how there really should be more life rings down there. Literally five minutes later, he was throwing a life ring into the father and son,” she said.
“The Forty foot slopes downwards, so very quickly you’re out of your depth. If you’re not expecting a wave to come in, it can catch you off guard,” she added.
Thankfully, Ms Columb was able to the call the coast guard and the father and his child were brought to safety.
“The dad came over and shook my son’s hand and just said, ‘Thank you so much’. You could see in his face, he knew just how close he came to losing his child that day. It was an unexpected wave, and they were in total shock,” Ms Columb said.
“I’ve seen too many close calls. It’s usually the fathers and grandfathers bringing kids down to have a look at the waves, and they might not realise the risks involved.
“I do feel that people might think twice if faced with some kind of warning sign before they go up there with kids. It would make people more aware of the dangers,” she added.
There have been calls for warning signs at the Forty Foot in Sandycove
Senator Barry Ward said the incident underscores the need for proper signage to warn people about the risks of unexpected large waves coming into the area.
“It has come up as an issue, and unless you know the area well – and even if you do – you don’t know how far those waves come up,” he said.
Mr Ward added that if the young man who helped the father and son to safety hadn’t been there, “God knows” what might have happened.
He said he has been informing Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for some time that it can be particularly dangerous around the Forty Foot and in some other areas, including Newtownsmith, where an entire footpath can be covered in water at high tide.
“It’s dangerous, and we don’t have any signs up saying that you need to stay away from the water and these waves do come up suddenly,” he said.
“People who don’t know the Forty Foot should be aware that when there’s a swell, you can get a sudden wave that can go right up to the entrance.
“I presume that may have happened in this incident, where a child or their father wasn’t aware there’s a hole in the wall on the right-hand side of the Forty Foot, where people often swim through.
“When there’s a swell, that water comes out through that hole and up to the hard surface where people change, which could easily sweep someone out into the water,” he added.
A similar incident took place in April when a young girl was rescued from the sea at Dún Laoghaire.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and The Irish Coast Guard have been contacted for comment.
