Tag Archives: doolin coast guard

A woman was rescued from the sea off Liscannor yesterday after she got into difficulty while kayaking. Four kayakers had set out from Liscannor Bay when one of the group fell into the water after her craft capsized. She was unable to climb back onto the kayak and the alarm was raised. The Shannon based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, and the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard were alerted. The crew of the fishing boat Gillstiffen that had been in the area at the time diverted to the area and located the kayakers. The woman, who had been in the water for a time, was taken on board by the fisherman and take back to Liscannor Harbour. The incident came just days after a father and son ghad to be rescued in Galway Bay after their inflatable kayak capsized. They were located by the crew of Rescue 115 after they climbed onto an anchored boat and waited …

A man has been airlifted to hospital after he fell from a 25 metre cliff near Lahinch this morning (Saturday). The alarm was raised at around 5am when the man in his 20s is understood to have lost his footing and fell. He was pulled ashore within minutes by one of the group he was with. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard along with an ambulance were alerted and rushed to the scene. The Shannon based Irish Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter was requested to airlift the injured man to hospital. He inched from the base of the cliff onto the helicopter and flown to Galway University Hospital.

A woman is recovering in hospital after she sustained a head injury when she slipped on rocks at Clahanes, near Liscannor, yesterday evening. The woman in her 50’s had been walking along the shoreline when the accident happened. The alarm was raised by a passerby who called the ambulance service. The Irish Coast Guard was requested to assist and the Doolin unit of the volunteer service assisted paramedics recover the patient and take her across the rocks to a waiting ambulance before being removed to University Hospital Limerick.

A post mortem is due to be carried out today on a body of a man recovered from the base of the Cliffs of Moher. While the body has not been formally identified its believed to be that of a man from Dublin who was seen falling into the sea at the Cliffs of Moher on Monday evening. Gardaí and the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard were alerted, however, the body was too close to the shore at the base of the cliffs to be safely recovered. Coast Guard volunteers returned to the area on Tuesday and recovered the body from  the water in late afternon. The remains were brought to the Doolin Coast Guard Station before being removal to University Hospital Limerick for a postmortem examination.

The search for a Polish man feared drowned off the Clare coast has been officially stood down. The 34-year-old man, who had been living in Killaloe, was reported missing on January 10 last, after his family became concerned for his safety. His car was subsequently found by gardaí, parked near the lighthouse at Loop Head. The early days of the search involved the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter and the Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard. However, deteriorating weather conditions greatly restricted the extent of the search operation at sea, on the shoreline and along the clifftops. Gale force winds exceeding 100kmh hampered the early search efforts and volunteers of Kilkee Coast Guard launched whenever they could and when it was safe to do so. In recent weeks, family members and friends of the missing man had travelled to the area to conduct their own searches. Elsewhere, Doolin Coast Guard has been called out three times in February so …

Lives are being put at risk by careless parking, according to the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard. The Doolin team moved into their new €1.8 million coast guard station at Ballyaghline last week and have said that already the entrance is being obstructed by parked cars. “There have been people parking in front of the entrance but, luckily, there were no call-outs at the times when people would mostly have been there. But these people are going out on the boats, so the cars could be left there for some time,” station officer Mattie Shannon said. “Respect the parking, lives could be lost if the boat is delayed. Every second counts. We do our best but there is only so much you can do when you have to tow a car out of the way, and cars will be towed out of the way if they are obstructing. They will have to be. Time is of the essence …

THE nine-year-old boy who fell into the water at Black Head in North Clare last weekend, died in hospital this Thursday afternoon. On Sunday last, Doolin Coast Guard was tasked to go to the area at 9.13pm after the alarm was raised that a child had fallen into the water close to Black Head Lighthouse. A number of people had been fishing in the area and attempts were made by those present to rescue the boy, but it is believed the tide swept him out and he got into difficulty. Shannon Coast Guard Rescue helicopter was also tasked. The boy was located quickly and was recovered from the water at approximately 9.50pm to the boat. The boy was  airlifted to Galway University Hospital and subsequently transferred to Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin.

FLOOD waters caused thousands of euro worth of damage to the premises of the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard at the weekend. Station officer in Doolin, Mattie Shannon estimates the cost of the damage could be in the region of €20,000. High tides, heavy rain and strong winds caused severe damage to the road surface leading to Doolin Pier and to the nearby car park. It is here that Doolin Coast Guard has its headquarters. The prefabricated building was “wrecked”. However, the team will continue to operate out of it until their new premises on the pier is open in the early summer. The new building is still under construction but was largely unscathed in the storm. “The door and the portacabin is wrecked really because it doesn’t take the water very well. The portacabin would cost about €5,000 or €6,000 to replace. I would estimate the damage would be around €15,000 to €20,000, including the electrical equipment …