Nathan Gallagher, originally from Burtonport in Co Donegal, was on the boat off Bondi Beach tagging sharks when he heard gunshots.
Fifteen innocent people were killed when father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram, armed with what police described as “long guns”, opened fire on more than 1,000 people attending a Jewish festival in the Archer Park area of the popular beach at 6.47pm local time on Sunday.
New South Wales (NSW) Health said 24 people remained in hospital with three still in a critical condition.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot by police and died at the scene, but 24-year-old Naveed woke from a coma on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to survive his injuries and face criminal charges, police said.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s Liveline, Mr Gallagher, who is also a reality TV star known for starring on Below Deck Mediterranean, said he initially thought he heard fireworks.
“We catch and release, and tag sharks so they can be monitored by the Government,” he said. “We were retrieving our lines from Bondi when we heard the shots go off.
"We heard three or four shots initially, and we thought it was actually fireworks. When I realised it was gunshots, I said to the boys: ‘Stop what you're doing. We're going in to see if we can save some people here’. So we immediately stopped and went full steam ahead to the shore.
“People in the water, they're panicking. They don't know what it is, and I'm shouting: ‘It's gunshots’, so people start swimming around. And I'm telling them: ‘Come to the boat’. So a few of them came to the boat.
"I’ve seen people running on the beach. They're going left and right. There were a lot of surfers in the water. People are lying down behind the lifeguard's buggy. It was a sight that will never be forgotten, that's for sure.”
Mr Gallagher said he was “scared”, and so were his friends who were on the boat with him.
“We were ducking behind the cabin. So it was quite scary, but I wanted to do this, get in there and see how many people we could get on the boat and get to safety so that they can get back to their loved ones for Christmas and the New Year," he said.
The group was able to save six or seven people, with one person jumping out of the boat to search for their friend.
“Some didn't know where their partners were. As soon as they were on the boat, I gave them my phone. I said: ‘Make as many calls as you want, contact your family, contact your partners’.
“They got in contact with their loved ones, and their family actually texted me after it, and they were so appreciative. It was incredible. It was actually heartwarming to read their messages.
“It was absolute carnage. They were completely shook. And I don't know how, but me and the crew kept our composure, and we were able to calm them down, thankfully.
“All our gear was in there [on our small boat], so there was little to no room. So we had some people sitting on the fishing gear, and then we had some people up where I drive the boat as well. There were people in the small cabin that we have.”
Today's News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, December 16
He added that people are now “scared” to go to the beach and to the city. His partner, Gael Cameron, whom he met on the set of Below Deck, was planning to go to Bondi Beach that day with their son, but “thankfully, they didn’t go”, he said.
"I called her, and I said: ‘There's a shooting in Bondi. I'm here, and I'm [trying to get] as many people out of the water as possible.”
Mr Gallagher, who has been hailed a “hero”, said it “definitely is slightly traumatic” for him.
"The thought of leaving would sit with me a lot worse than going there and doing what we did. So I'll take it with me, and it's something that I'll be proud of doing for the rest of my life," he said.
“To me, if I went home and I turned a blind eye to it, I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night knowing that I could have contributed to saving a few people. So that wasn't a thought in my mind to just turn away."
His mother, Noreen Gallagher, who was also speaking to Liveline, said she wouldn’t “expect anything less from Nathan”.
"It definitely was [traumatic]. It was very frightening. But at the same time, I wouldn't expect anything less from Nathan,” she said. “He just thinks about other people before his own safety."
“I woke up to a lot of missed calls. I was in shock when I was watching the videos, and just so glad to hear his voice on the end of the phone. A proud mama."
She added that the whole community in Burtonport in Co Donegal is “proud” of her son.
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