Divers track down eel that took a chunk out of Galwayman’s face

Diving enthusiasts in Connemara have managed to track down the huge conger eel which took a huge chunk out of a city businessman’s face at 25 metres’ depth last month.

A team of divers revisited the site, near Killary, where Jimmy Griffin had his brush with death and found the giant fish swimming in open water.

The divers, who wore extra protection while examining the beast, worked out that the eel had unusually bad eyesight – which may have explained why it was swimming in the open sea.

Normally, conger eels spend their days hiding behind rocks or in holes, and only come out at night to hunt for food, which is why Jimmy’s encounter with the six foot creature was so unusual last month.

A team of plastic surgeons at University Hospital Galway, led by consultant Padraig Regan, have rebuilt the left side of Jimmy’s face and the award-winning baker has revelled in his new-found celebrity status since last week’s Galway City Tribune story went ‘viral’ all over the world.

Jimmy, the owner of Griffin’s Bakery on Shop Street, has come across reports on the story as far away as Australia and Vietnam. He even did ‘live’ interviews for Canadian and Spanish radio stations after news of his encounter spread throughout the globe.

His cool reaction after finding that air bubbles were coming out the side of his mouth, at depth, seems to have captured the imagination of people in other countries.

Jimmy even took a phone call from a friend, a fellow baker, who heard an interview with him on a radio station while driving to work in San Francisco last weekend.

“I am working in the San Francisco area and was driving and listening to the radio when the all of sudden they started interviewing you regarding your eel attack,” said his friend.

“Oh my gosh, hearing you speak about it was absolutely unreal. You are a hero to keep it all together and keeping your wits during such an ordeal. You absolutely have to know God was looking out for you. You are an inspiration.”

Jimmy said his phone started hopping as soon as the Galway City Tribune appeared on the streets last Friday and he was overwhelmed by all the good luck messages he has received over the past week.

“I think it’s every person’s deepest fear, being eaten alive by a sea creature. I do think it’s that primeval fear we have of being eaten alive by something, because people are captured by that image of something so big attached to me, eating me, and you throw in the fact that it was 25 metres under the water into the mix. It becomes even more terrifying,” he said this week.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.