Appelbee family make it back to Magheracloone from Australia

From a 10-hour ordeal in shark-infested waters off the coast of Western Australia to the couch of the Late Late Show and the freedom of Monaghan, it has been a whirlwind three months for the Appelbee family from Perth since their dramatic sea rescue made international headlines. The Celt was invited into mum Joanne's homeplace in Magheracloone last week to catch up with the family and hear all about their latest adventures...

The Appelbees' story had a happy sequel this month as they were flown home by the Late Late Show to surprise her parents Doreen and Packie Cunningham and also receive a civic reception in Monaghan.

It was January 30 when Joanne and her children Austin (now 14), Beau (12) and Grace (8), found themselves in a near-death situation, swept out to sea at Quindalup Beach in Dunsborough, Western Australia. On vacation, they had hired a small kayak and two paddle boards to enjoy the shallow waters of Geographe Bay.

Their predicament worsened until eventually Joanne was forced to allow brave Austin swim around 4km to shore to get help and raise the alarm. By the time the Coast Guard rescued the family, 10 hours in the water had taken its toll, it was pitch dark and they had drifted about eight miles from the shore.

Viewers of the Late Late Show on May 1 witnessed Joanne being reunited with her beloved parents, Doreen and Packie, live on TV.

Doreen received a phone call inviting the Cunninghams to The Late Late Show and she recalled giving the caller from RTÉ a piece of her mind: “There’s no point in me going to the Late Late. Joanne and the family should be going to the Late Late. Not me.”

But Joanne encouraged her to go. “I said, ‘you’d better go to the show... you never know, they might help us get home in the future’.”

Doreen, Packie, Sorcha her goddaughter and Sandra her sister-in-law all travelled in style in a chauffeur-driven car to RTÉ studios. Joanne’s best friend and sister-in-law Michelle was backstage with Joanne and the kids, the only one who knew their hard-kept secret.

The family were told they had a video message from Joanne. When host Patrick Kielty went up into the audience to talk to The FTD Brothers, who ran a marathon earlier that day in Monaghan, Doreen wondered why they were changing the set from chairs to a long couch. She never dreamt she’d be on it a few minutes later! Doreen’s reaction was so natural, it’s clear that she didn’t know. “I forgot I had the microphone on me!” she laughed.

Packie, Joanne’s dad, was lost for words. He told this reporter: “I had nothing to say, these were busy talking! I enjoyed the Late Late. It was a big, big surprise... They were very lucky. It was close. It could have been an awful different outcome. It was a bit of a shock coming home, when we saw we had such a big crowd coming! It’s great to see them.”

Mammy’s holy candle also got a mention, Doreen previously told this newspaper that she had a sickening feeling that something was very wrong, so she lit a candle. It later transpired that, around the same time, Joanne was praying for a miracle for her little family who were battling for survival on the other side of the world.

During their time at the RTÉ studios, the family received two Swim Ireland certificates. Austin received a ‘Just in Time’ Award, sponsored by Seiko and a watch to go with it for his four-hour swim to save his family. “He was just in time,” his mother said, breathing a sigh of relief.

The Appelbee family received a certificate of recognition for courage, along with VIP tickets to Emerald Park. “We never expected any of it, it’s just amazing,” Joanne said.

The photos taken to document their trip home are very different to the now iconic photo of the family just days after their ordeal at sea.

“I was trying to wear loose clothes, so they wouldn’t stick. All of us were really badly burnt because we were on the paddle boards the whole time,” she said, explaining that the sun block had well washed away after 10 hours on the water had.

Austin escaped the worst of the sunburn because he kept moving but needed to use a wheelchair and crutches for a short time afterwards as his legs felt like jelly.

Beau wore the same top with a shark on it for his Celt interview, as he did on the day of the incident. Asked if the waters, which they never intended to be in, were really shark-infested, Joanne said: “Oh God yeah. They are renowned for it. The waves were 10 foot high, the guy on the boat told us. Where we were found was 45 metres deep, eight miles (12.8km) out. It took 40 minutes on the boat to get back to shore. When I got on the boat, we still didn’t even know that Austin had raised the alarm, because we assumed the hotel had. It was the next morning when we realised everything that had transpired.”

Austin said that he wanted to go with the helicopter pilot and rescuer, but wasn’t allowed.

Beau, who is about to become a teenager, told the Celt what it was like for him. “It was really windy out there. We were struggling to stay on. I didn’t get the best sleep the night before and the coldness wasn’t helping. It was frightening, hard to stay calm. I’m happy my little sister was out there. I probably would have panicked if she wasn’t.”

Asked how they passed the time on the paddleboards, Beau said: “Mucking about … Another scary part was when we actually got off the paddle board to try and push it to shore.”

Joanne added: “Do you remember the Jaws movie where they have the barrel and they float back into shore? I was like, well maybe if we push it in front of us and kick, we might get some momentum, but the wind was too strong.”

The main problem was when it got dark, Beau added: “When we flipped (off the paddleboards) and drifted away from mum, I lost my voice. I tried to yell to mum. I lost sight of Grace and then I found her. Mum lost her glasses. People think the helicopter made us flip, but it was a wave. We weren’t paying attention. We were trying to wave. None of us were holding on. That’s why we flipped. I got Grace into the boat first. The second I got on, I asked, ‘is my mum still out there?’ The scariest part was probably that.”

Austin explained how he knew how far he had swum: “At my dad’s place, I liked watching the freight trains go by... There was a signal light 50 metres away and then four kilometres that way was another signal light, that’s how I could tell the distance.”

The brave teen received the Australian Army Cadets Gold Commendation and the family received letters from Australia’s Head of State King Charles III and Irish President Catherine Connolly. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Irish Ambassador to Australia, Fiona Flood have both sent Uachtarán na hÉireann letters of support for the nomination of Austin Appelbee for the President’s Distinguished Award.

While these and various other accolades are much appreciated, Austin and the family did what they had to do to survive. They feel bravery and courage didn’t come into it. The Appelbees just want to get back to normal.

The family are back in Ireland for a month, but Joanne would like to stay forever. She said: “I wanted to come home from the day it happened because I don’t have the same support network or immediate family over there.”

When they return to Australia, Joanne faces a busy time at work. She has been seconded to the World Police Fire Games 2027 (Perth), from the Australian Department of Justice, where she normally works.

“It’s like the Olympic Games for Police,” Joanne explained. She is grateful to her employer for allowing her the time to come home this month.

As to the next chapter in the story of the Appelbee family, the world will be gripped having taken them to heart.

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