Coast Guard to the rescue in Kilkee

THIRTY-TWO years after Kilkee Marine Rescue was established, it merged with the Irish Coast Guard on Wednesday. The voluntary marine rescue service was the first of its kind in the country.

 

It is envisaged that a new €1m rescue centre will be built in the resort town, while a new rescue boat is also to be based in Kilkee.

Since the volunteer-driven rescue group was set up in 1981, it has rescued 600 people and recovered 70 bodies.

Kilkee man Manuel Di Lucia, who founded the unit, believes the time is right for the State-run Irish Coast Guard to subsume the voluntary group.

“It is difficult but I’m doing it in the interest of the rescue service and also to ensure that the service will go on without having to worry about finance for the years to come. It is a practical move in the current climate, when finances are scarce. It’s very difficult to try to collect between €40,000 and €60,000 a year to run the rescue service. The fact that we’re teaming up with the Irish Coast Guard means that we don’t have to worry about collecting money ever again. We have a new boat coming and there are plans for a new rescue centre, which the Irish Coast Guard will build. What they’re building will probably be in excess of €1m,” the Kilkee Marine Rescue chairman said on Wednesday.
In the region of 24 Kilkee Marine Rescue volunteers are to link up with the Irish Coast Guard service.

“They’ll be all retrained so that they will be upskilled, apparently to the level of the Coast Guard in Doolin. It’s not that we don’t have the skills ourselves but in order to be covered by insurance they have to be upskilled by the Coast Guard. It was a great pleasure to have worked with such fantastic people, from all walks of life, over the last 32 years. Without them, I could not have run a rescue service in Kilkee. They were exemplary,” Mr Di Lucia added.
Wednesday’s merger also marked Manuel’s last act in the rescue service in Kilkee.

“I will be retiring. You can’t stay there forever. You have to hand over to younger people. You can’t hog it the whole time. It’s time for me to move on. I’m 72 years of age. I have another small project in mind, which I hope to fulfil before the end of next year,” he explained.

Deputy Pat Breen said he had been involved in talks, which facilitated the merger. “After four or five years of negotiations, I am delighted the merger is finally coming about and I am confident it will safeguard the future of the local rescue service. Thanks to the merger, the Irish Coast Guard, which is a division of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, will assume responsibility for the Kilkee unit, meaning the local service will no longer be under constant pressure to fundraise.

“As well as the obvious financial benefits, the Kilkee unit also stands to gain in a number of ways as a result of this amalgamation. Significantly, there will be an immediate investment of €250,000 in the local unit, which will allow for major improvements to be made and for communications equipment to be upgraded. The station house will also be upgraded,” Deputy Breen added.