The final words of a father who drowned alongside his family when their car plunged off a pier were: "Save my baby".

The hero who dived in and saved the baby has described how the infant's father chose to stay with his other children rather than save himself.

Davitt Walsh swam out into Buncrana harbour in north Co Donegal on Sunday night in an effort to reach the six people trapped in a car that had slid off the slip way into Lough Swilly.

Sean McGrotty, 46, died along with his two sons Mark, 12, and Evan, eight, his mother-in-law Ruth Daniels, 57, and her 14-year-old daughter Jodie Lee Daniels.

The only survivor was Mr McGrotty's four-month-old baby girl Rionaghac-Ann.

Mr Walsh described how the father handed him the infant out the broken driver's side window just moments before the Audi Q7 sank.

Mr McGrotty's wife Louise was away for a hen weekend when the tragedy unfolded.

The young mother who has lost her husband, two children, mother and sister has said her surviving baby is her reason to live.

Mrs McGrotty, from Ballymagroarty in Londonderry city, was in the family home for much of the day surrounded by extended family and friends as she tried to grasp the extent of the tragedy.