Holidaying Kiwi helps save woman who fell in River Boyne in Ireland

Gary Price of Auckland has been hailed a hero after he helped saved a woman from the River Boyne in Drogheda, north of Dublin, on Friday. Photo/Facebook.

An Auckland man holidaying in Ireland with his wife is being praised after helping save the life of a woman who fell into a river.

Quality assurance officer Gary Price and wife, Marie, had just checked into their hotel in Drogheda, 50km north of Dublin, when they saw two women sitting near the River Boyne.

In an interview with the Irish Sun, Price said, "I said to Marie, 'she looks a bit wobbly' and then she just fell over backwards.

"It was almost as if she had lost consciousness and she fell back into the water and [was in] a sitting position. She went straight into the river."

Marie Price ran to get help from the hotel reception while her husband ran to the river.

At the same time local man Andrew Farrell also saw the commotion and jumped in to grab her.

Farrell massaged the woman's throat and shook her head to get her breathing again.

There was a strong current but fortunately Price jumped in the water to help Farrell hold the woman's head up out of the water.

"It seemed like ages until we lifted her up and could get her arms up and that was when a man and girls from the hairdressers, The Cut Above, managed to pull her up, " he told the Irish Sun.

Price praised the efforts of the Irishman and said they both ended up in water up to their chins.

Farrell said it was the second time in he had rescued someone from the river.