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Tag Archives: coast guard

Kilkee coast guard unit further down-graded

ACROSS the May Bank Holiday weekend, Kilkee had no coast guard service available in the event of an emergency. A source has told The Clare Champion that the limited service the Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard had been providing was further down-graded, following a recent training incident. It has also been claimed that the current coast guard crew have not recently passed an Operational Readiness Assessment (ORA) in more than two years. The Clare Champion contacted the Department of Transport on Wednesday for a comment on the claims, but it had not responded at the time of going to press. “The coast guard will say that they have a boat. We all know they have a boat but they don’t have a crew. Every time they need to go in the water, they need to bring an instructor down from Maritime SAR to even get on the water to do the training. There are about six people who …

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Stay safe at the seaside

The Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI have issued a joint appeal this Bank Holiday weekend for people to be vigilant and to take care on the water and along the coastline. It comes as both organisations note that August was the busiest month for coastal recreational incidents last year. Irish lifeboat crews last August alone responded 217 times to emergencies at sea. With the summer holidays in full swing, it has been a busy time for the search and rescue agencies and this Bank Holiday weekend, the two organisations are warning people to be vigilant and take heed of some simple safety advice. While summer air temperatures may be warm, Irish waters rarely exceed 15C, making them cold enough year-round to trigger cold water shock, which causes the instinctive reaction to gasp and swim hard, which can quickly lead to drowning. As part of its drowning prevention campaign, Respect the Water, the RNLI is calling on the public to …

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Kilkee Coast Guard back in sea

IRISH Coast Guard operations manager Declan Geoghegan has confirmed to The Clare Champion that the Kilkee Coast Guard Unit is likely to be fully operational in the coming week. However, the town will be without the service for the June Bank Holiday weekend, which is traditionally one of the busiest of the summer season in Kilkee. Following the tragic death of coast guard volunteer, Catríona Lucas, on September 12, 2016, the Kilkee unit ceased to provide a full water-based search and rescue service. The unit has not been fully operational in the town for nine months, which is the longest inactive period since the Kilkee Marine Rescue and Recovery Service was established in 1981. Mr Geoghegan confirmed that training has taken place for current Kilkee Coast Guard members and that they will be subject to an inspection in the coming days. “We will be putting in an ORA [Operational Readiness Assessment] team. Subject to that, the unit will be on …

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Lucas family accept Clare person of the year award

THE late Caitríona Lucas was posthumously named Clare person of the year at a ceremony in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon last night. Over 300 people were in attendance at the Clare Association function, as the award was accepted by the late Ms Lucas’ husband Bernard, her son Ben and daughter Emma. Speaking to The Champion at the Falls, Bernard said “It means an awful lot for all of us, for the family, the extended family, it’s a huge honour.” Bernard, who also volunteers with the coastguard, added, “it’s a very proud night for all of us and it’s a great honour to have. Unfortunately it’s posthumous, but she would be very, very honoured by it.” He also paid tribute to those who have helped him and his family since last September. “We’ve had a lot of support from friends and neighbours. It would have been very difficult without them, but we have great neighbours, great friends and great extended …

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Shannon chopper on rescue mission

The Shannon based Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 has this Tuesday evening evacuated a seriously injured crewman from a large Russian fishing vessel approximately 140 nautical miles West of Kerry Head. The operation is being coordinated by the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Valentia and is being supported by the Naval ship LÉ Róisín. Crew members from the LÉ Róisín went on board the vessel and assisted with casualty evacuation. Communication support and back up, known as Top Cover was provided by a second Coast Guard helicopter, the Waterford based R117. Weather conditions in the area for helicopter operations were difficult, bordering on marginal for such operations with a strong West South West swell and winds gusting in excess of 35mph. The helicopter is currently routing to University Hospital Limerick, to arrive before 7:30pm, following an essential fuel stopover at Kerry airport. This is the second operation in recent weeks where the LÉ Róisín assisted the Coast Guard in an …

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Busy morning for Coast Guard choppers

In an  eventful early morning (Monday), Coast Guard helicopters conducted off shore operations to evacuate fishermen from two different vessels. The Shannon based helicopter R115 was tasked to evacuate a fisherman from a fishing vessel working approximately 120 miles West of Kerry Head. The casualty was transferred to University Hospital Limerick by the Coast Guard helicopter. The Waterford based helicopter R117 was tasked to assist a fishermen who suffered an on-board injury and was transferred by the Coast Guard helicopter to University Hospital Waterford. Medical advice for the two operations was provided to the Coast Guard by MEDICIO Cork based in Cork University Hospital A&E section.

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Coast Guard safety message

The Coast Guard is requesting members of the public planning on engaging in any coastal activities over the Christmas period to first check that it is safe to do so and to be mindful of the risks and life threatening dangers that can arise without warning. Many people will be engaging in outdoor activities along the coastline, be it on exposed coasts, cliffs, piers, harbour walls, beaches, promenades or other coastal areas. The simple safety message from the Coast Guard is, “Stay back, stay high, stay dry. Storm Barbara, which will give rise to stormy conditions, is forecasted to blow through today (Friday) and there is a risk of some stormy weather returning on Christmas Day. A general improvement in weather conditions conducive to outdoor activities, is forecast from St Stephen’s Day. Spring tides that generate higher tides, peak in the latter part of the week and pose an additional risk. Christmas Day swims are a popular pursuit and the …

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Gallantry award for coast guard member

A KILLALOE Coast Guard member has netted a national gallantry award for the bravery he showed in saving the lives of three people off Inisheer Pier last June. Transport Minister, Shane Ross presented the Michael Heffernan Bronze Medal for Marine Gallantry to Charlie Hennigar at the Marine Gallantry and Meritorious Service Awards ceremony in Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park on Friday evening. On Monday, June 6, 2016, Mr Hennigar, who was off duty, was responsible for rescuing three people, when the gangway between the pier on Inisheer and an island ferry ditched into the water, as the stern drifted back out from the quay wall. Realising the gangway was about to fall, as the ferry drifted out, Mr Hennigar managed to pull a woman off the gangway. Subsequently, another woman and a man fell into the water, between the ferry and quay wall. Mr Hennigar climbed down the ladder and managed to pull the woman to safety and then entered …

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