Last Wednesday afternoon a young Limerick woman found herself in a situation many of us would dread, and perhaps unable to react to.

Walking home across Sarsfield Bridge in Limerick city centre, Shauna O’Riordan saw a man climbing onto the bridge and above the River Shannon.

“I was just walking home on my way to get ready for work in town,” Shauna told Jonathan Healy on Lunchtime.

As the man climbed onto the bridge structure Shauna reacted instantly, going to his aid. 

“He just hopped up on the bridge," she said.

“I don’t know what my instincts was, it still hasn’t hit me yet but I was shocked because I was saying it was a normal thing to do. It was just my instinct.

“I just tried to speak to him and tell him that it wasn’t the right thing to do.

“Thankfully in the end it worked."

Onlookers began to watch the incident unfold, but did not come to Shauna’s aid, she says.

“A circle started forming where he was about to leap. I was like ‘why are yee looking?’"

“The amount of people that walked past and ignored such a tragic situation was mind blowing. I still can't get my head around it,” she said.

“About five or six people” walked passed Shauna as the incident unfolded, as well as traffic passing on the bridge.

“Thankfully two men in the end came over and they were so kind.

“He was so frustrated and in a horrible mindset and they were just holding him back.”

Emergency services arrived on the scene, including gardai and fire and rescue services, and brought the man to safety. He was reportedly taken into custody for his own safety.

Listen to the full interview with Shauna O’Riordan below