Tag Archives: coast guard

In the lead up to the Easter bank holiday weekend, the Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland have issued a joint water safety appeal and are asking people to take some basic precautions to stay safe when they visit the coast or participate in water activities, be it coastal or inland. The organisations also extended a warm welcome to new residents and visitors to the island, many of whom may not be familiar with tides and Irish sea conditions and encourage them to seek local advice before engaging in any water or coastal activities. See also www.watersafety.ie/ukraine Water temperatures are still very cold at this time of year and Cold Water Shock can affect everyone. To avoid this, people should acclimatise to the water slowly to get used to the cold. The Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland advise everyone intending to take part in any water-based activity or coastal walks to make sure they check in advance …

A man has died after he was swept out to sea while walking along the shoreline in West Clare this afternoon, reports Pat Flynn. A major search and rescue operation was mounted after the alarm was raised at around 2.15pm. Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry launched and coordinated a multi-agency search and rescue operation in an area north of Kilkee. The Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard; the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter – Rescue 115 – the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat; National Ambulance Service and Gardaí were requested to respond. The exact details of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy are not yet known however, it’s understood that the man in his 30s had been out walking on the shoreline near Farrihy Bay north of Kilkee when he lost his footing and and fell into the sea. Emergency services responded to the area by land, air and sea and …

  The Coast Guard and RNLI are appealing to Clare people to exercise caution when participating in any activity on or near the water during the Christmas and New Year period. People who wish to engage in recreational activities are advised to be mindful of the restrictions in place to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. With many traditional Christmas and New Year swims cancelled, anybody planning this activity should check on the up-to-date guidance and ensure that they have made the appropriate safety arrangements. Both organisations have thanked the public for their cooperation during the past year and in particular to the positive response in adhering with severe weather warnings. 2021 proved to be a busy year with an almost 20% increase in callouts, placing extra demand on search and rescue providers, including Coast Guard and RNLI volunteer crews.   With the increased levels of open water swimming, both organisations are highlighting the risks of cold water shock, which is …

A woman was rescued from the sea this morning after getting into difficulty while swimming off the Black Rock at Spanish Point. The alarm was raised at around 11.30am when emergency services received a report of a person in trouble. Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub-centre on Valentia Island in Kerry mounted a multi-agency search and rescue operation involving the Kilkee unit of the Coast Guard, Clare County Fire and Rescue Service, National Ambulance Service, RNLI and An Garda Síochána. A man walking on the beach at the time is understood to have entered the water and helped the woman ashore. It’s believed the woman, thought to be in her 60s, got into difficulty after finding herself out of her depth. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, and the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat were also tasked but were stood down when it was confirmed that the woman had been brought ashore. The Kilkee Coast …

  THE Irish Coast Guard and RNLI have cautioned that water-based activity on or in the sea should not take place while the current emergency restrictions are in place. Both organisations are highlighting the importance of minimising the risk to Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteer crews, Helicopter crew and other front-line emergency services, through being unintentionally exposed to COVID-19. RNLI and Coast Guard search and rescue services are fully operational but both organisations are urging everyone to follow Government instructions, which are clear – “stay home, protect frontline services and save lives”. While you are allowed out for daily exercise, we do not recommend that this exercise is on, or in the sea and all travel restrictions must be observed. SAR services, including RNLI lifeboat service, Coast Guard helicopter services and Coast Guard units, are still available but every callout has the potential to put additional pressure on SAR services and other front-line emergency services as well as potentially exposing …

AN Post has today (Thursday) issued two stamps marking the Irish Coast Guard’s provision of search, rescue and monitoring services at sea, on the coast and waterways of Ireland.  The stamps designed by Vermillion Design, are based on an original painting by the late Caitriona Lucas, who sadly lost her life in Kilkee while volunteering with the Coast Guard on September 12, 2016. Members of the Irish Coast Guard and Bernard Lucas, widower of Caitriona, unveiled the set of stamps in the GPO while a Coast Guard team displayed the new stamps in Dublin Bay.  The artwork depicts a rescue team working at sea, both in the air and on the water. The scene in the painting was divided into two stamps by Vermillion Design. The Irish Coast Guard responds to maritime and inland search and rescue emergencies with its main objective to reduce the loss of life on lakes, waterways, rivers, sea and coastal areas.  The brave men and …

Gardaí have confirmed that the Coastguard helicopter has recovered two teenagers who got into difficulty swimming in the quarry at Roslevan. The condition of the two boys is not yet known but they have both been taken to University Hospital Limerick. The incident occurred at approximately 4pm today. The Coastguard helicopter was deployed to deal with the situation and the two teenagers were retrieved from the water.  

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 …