Little Donegal girl reunited with teddy bear lost at sea

Young Donegal holidaymaker Sophie Callaghan has been reunited with her beloved teddy bear thanks to an Irish cruise ship captain.

On Friday, Brian Whelan, the Staff Captain on Sun Princess, the newest ship on the Princess Cruises fleet, travelled to the Callaghan home in Burt to reunite Sophie with Rabbie.

While on a dream family holiday aboard the Sun Princess, Rabbie went missing. Little Sophie only noticed Rabbie's absence after disembarking the ship and returning home, leaving her devastated.

A search was launched aboard the ship by Whelan and his crew, who scoured the ship, from the laundry rooms to the staterooms, and even under the beds.

“We searched everywhere,” Captain Whelan, who is originally from Galway, said. “Unfortunately, Rabbie didn’t have a Medallion,” he said, referring to the ship’s state-of-the-art Medallion technology used to track guests on board.

Rabbie was discovered safe and sound on the ship’s bridge, where he had apparently been helping the crew with navigational duties.

The staff took a series of photos showing Rabbie looking out at the sea and assisting with the ship's operations, which brought some much-needed smiles to Sophie and her family.

Whelan's heroic efforts continued as he made the journey to Donegal on Friday with Rabbie.
He said: "Seeing Sophie’s face light up when she saw Rabbie again was worth every mile. It was a real joy to make that trip, and it’s always lovely to meet fellow Irish people while working on the ships. It brings a sense of home to me when I’m away."