Tag Archives: Doolin Coast Guard Unit

TEN FORMER Doolin Coast Guard volunteers are willing to return as a group to facilitate a proper working of the unit, it emerged this week. Addressing a meeting of the Transport and Communications committee, Bernard Lucas recalled six volunteers resigned over alleged difficulties with management. “We were all sacked. They put an interim team in place. Four of the six people went back, two didn’t. They took back two members that had resigned two or three years previously. They asked two more to come back that made up eight people. They asked some from a group of ten to come back and they said no. “Four of the eight were qualified and two were retired so some of their certificates would be out. They left out a group of ten that could have continued the unit on all disciplines – boat, searching and climbing – who were fully certified. “With the eight, there isn’t enough qualified people to do climbing, …

FORMER members of the Doolin Coast Guard unit played a part in the recovery of the body of one of two missing men in north Clare last week. The former unit members managed to locate one body at Aille na Searrach at around on Thursday, April 7, at around 1.30pm. Remaining members of the Doolin Coast Guard Unit are not allowed to search near certain sections of terrain around the cliffs between Doolin and Liscannor. Tom Doherty told The Clare Champion he thought he saw what seemed to be a body in the waters near a cliff shelf on Tuesday, April 5, but the weather was too bad to investigate this matter further. After enlisting the help of another former volunteer, Bernard Lucas, they went down to investigate on Thursday, April 7, at about 1.30pm and located the body. A mobile phone belonging to the man who they located was passed on to Gardaí for identification purposes. On Friday, garda …

THE process around trying to solve interpersonal difficulties between Doolin Coast Guard members was a “token gesture” to appease public representatives, former volunteers have claimed. A number of volunteers have expressed their dissatisfaction the appointment of mediator, Kieran Mulvey did not result in the desired improvement in relations. On Monday, November 22, Mr Mulvey met separately with the Sector Manager of the region, the existing 12 volunteers, and the six resigned volunteers. One volunteer claimed Mr Mulvey sat down and went through the whole issue with members. “He said I will have to compile a report and I will be back down next week with a report of my findings, we will work through it and find a way out. “We never again saw Kieran Mulvey. The whole purpose of mediation is discussion, compromise, give and take. Then suddenly there is a report and we are all sacked. “People asked about one-to-one meetings with him because they were not comfortable …

FORMER Doolin Coast Guard volunteers have claimed the current reconstituted interim unit, which has eight members, is not fully functional in its current form, more than four months after the previous group was officially disbanded, writes Dan Danaher. Last November, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton asked the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) to begin the process of reconstituting the Doolin Coast Guard unit, which was stood down from operations and training activities following the resignation of six volunteers. This decision was made following receipt of a report and recommendation from independent mediator, Kieran Mulvey, who concluded that certain relationships within the Doolin Coast Guard Unit have irretrievably broken down and that the mutual trust, respect and confidence required to effectively operate a Coast Guard Unit does not exist within the Unit. The report concluded that the interpersonal difficulties are not capable of being resolved through the normal mediation process. Deputy Darren O’Rourke recently asked Minister Naughton …

THE Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard has been reconstituted on an interim basis and already eight members have been recruited, writes Gordon Deegan. That is according to Minister for State at the Dept of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton (FG) who said that there will be perhaps 12 members to start with for the unit to recommence its work. Minister Naughton said, “Currently, additional cover is being provided from Kilkee and Killaloe. Helicopter and other emergency services are also being provided.” In the Dail on Thursday, Minister Naughton told Deputy Darren O’Rourke (SF) the reconstitution of the unit on an interim basis involves a core group of volunteers who, the Coast Guard believes, can work and operate together. The Coast Guard has moved to reconstitute the unit after a report by mediator Kieran Mulvey in December concluded that no form of mediation would resolve matters of dispute at the unit. The Clare unit – one of the busiest in the country …

A LARGE number of Doolin Coast Guard members remain uncertain of their future involvement in the service due to a lack of direct contact from the national Coast Guard, writes Dan Danaher. While a number of local Coast Guard volunteers were involved in the search for a body on Sunday and Monday, one well placed source claimed the unit only had eight members earlier this week – four fewer than when it was stood down from operations last November. Minister of State in the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton TD, has asked the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) to begin the process of reconstituting the Doolin Coast Guard unit, which was stood down from operations and training activities on November 2 last after the resignation of six volunteers. The decision was made following receipt of a report and recommendation from independent mediator, Kieran Mulvey who had been called in to speak with all protagonists. The report advised that certain relationships within …

  THE Doolin Coast Guard Unit will be reconstituted on an interim basis to ensure rescue services return to the local community and visitors, according to Minister of State in the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton . On November 2, Doolin Coast Guard Unit was controversially stood down from operations and training activities after six volunteers resigned including the officer in charge amid claims of “severe bullying and harassment” in the service. Marine cover and medical assistance to casualties that get into difficulty in inaccessible locations from South Galway to Doonbeg couldn’t be provided by very experienced highly trained members over the last six weeks. Transport Minister Eamon Ryan was warned by Senator Martin Conway that “lives were being put at risk” over the “unacceptable decision” to stand down the unit, despite the expertise and experience of 12 remaining members. The outcry over the coast guard unit’s suspension resulted in the recent appointment of independent mediator, Kieran Mulvey, who concluded …

A small boat with two people on board that got into difficulty off the Clare coast on Monday afternoon was towed to safety by the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat. The Aran crew was requested to deal with the incident as the Irish Coast Guard unit based at nearby Doolin has been stood down pending resolution of issues at the station. The alarm was raised at around 3.30pm when the two-person crew of the half-deck boat suffered technical problems in Liscannor Bay. The crew contacted watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub-centre on Valentia Island in Kerry. Staff there mounted a rescue operation. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was requested to make its way to the area and investigate the problem. The helicopter had been in the air on a training mission at the time and made its way to the scene. In the meantime, the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat was tasked to proceed to …