Tag Archives: Lough Derg

IN its most ambitious fundraising event to date, the Lap the Lake cycle, organised by the Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Branch, has been described as “an immense success”. The event, blessed by good weather and good cheer has raised significant funds, essential for the charity’s lifesaving activities. 250 cyclists participated in the event on May 8 which started and finished at the RNLI Lifeboat Station in Dromineer. The 130km route around Lough Derg gave participants the opportunity to delight in the outstanding beauty of the lake and the River Shannon. The riders’ safety and well-being were well catered for with First Aid providers, out-riders, marshals, and bike maintenance stops along the route, as well as comfort and refreshments stations. Niamh McCutcheon, Chairperson of the Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Committee and the ‘Lap the Lake’ Event Committee, said, “The Inaugural Lap of the Lake cycle around the beautiful Lough Derg covering counties Tipperary, Clare and Galway was enjoyed by cyclists from all over Ireland. The …

MOUNTSHANNON Angling Club have presented lifetime honorary membership awards to two members, Billy Hickey and Andrew Brown for services rendered to the club over the years and for their role in promoting angling and works to ensure the ongoing rehabilitation of Lough Derg as a brown trout nursery. The awards were announced at the club’s EGM last week when the schedule of competitions was confirmed and a new committee put in place for 2022. Officers elected were President; Brian Merrick; Chairman, Peter Turner; Vice Chairman, Joseph Lyons;p class=”p2″>Secretary, Brian Durack; Treasurer, John O’Rourke; PRO, Tony Hogan and committee, David Burke and Andrew Brown. The club is currently investigating ways of encouraging young members to join the club and intend to organize an event later in the year to teach them ‘how to fish’’. The club acknowledged the lack of advance notice to members but it was felt that the best choice was to go ahead with the competitions as listed rather …

LAKESIDE activities of all kinds are planned as part of ambitious proposals to develop a pavilion at Aistear Park in Mountshannon.  Earlier this month, the Community Council formally lodged plans with Clare County Council for the  facility, after extensive public consultation. The roofed, open structure, which will provide shelter from the elements, and have water and electricity installed, will be able to cater for festivals, performances, classes, social events and a host of other activities. Also awaited is an announcement from the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, to which the Community Council has lodged a funding application.  “We looked at the situation with Covid,” explained Joanne Dunphy-Allen, Chairperson of Mountshannon Community Council. “We’re always looking to enhance the the community and to improve areas and boost what we have. We looked at situations where we’d had events and festivals. We had groups that were having difficulties being able to meet inside and do things, because of Covid. Also, we live …

A RECENT launch by Lough Derg RNLI to investigate a report of a kayaker in difficulty turned out to be a false alarm. Rather than an overturned kayak, a water board being used as a safety buoy by swimmers turned out to be the object of the calls Valentia Coast Guard had requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to launch to investigate a report from a member of the public that a kayaker was in difficulty by Navigation Mark J, at the northern end of Lough Derg.   The lifeboat launched with helm Keith Brennan, crew Owen Cavanagh, Chris Parker and Tom Hayes on board. Winds were south-westerly Force 4 and gusting and visibility was good.  When the lifeboat arrived at Navigation Mark J, north of Gortmore, it began a thorough search of the area. From shore, two swimmers at Gortmore observed the lifeboat and called the RNLI boathouse in Dromineer, suspecting that the water-board which they had been using as a …

TOURISM enterprises around Lough Derg are looking forward to a wave of international business next August thanks to the staging of the Fireball World Championships in the locality, writes Dan Danaher. This will be the first Fireball World Championship since Montreal in 2019 so there is significant interest around the globe, with international teams already booking their accommodation and making travel arrangements. The International Fireball is a high-performance two-person racing dinghy popular in Ireland and around the world. The dinghy class has a small local presence in Dromineer and a larger one in Killaloe SC and in the Dublin Bay waterfront clubs. At the time of writing, teams are expected to flock to the Lough Derg Yacht Club in Dromineer from Australia, Canada, the US, France, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic and South Africa, along with a large contingent from the UK and a rapidly growing local fleet. The organisers have predicted the Fireball event should provide a significant boost …

THE newest fully qualified member Lough Derg RNLI’s lifeboat crew has told how good it feels to be able to help others, as the organisation urges others to volunteer and get involved. Following his final assessment with Helena Duggan, RNLI Assessor/Trainer, earlier this month, Tom Hayes has been passed out as a fully qualified lifeboat crew member with Lough Derg RNLI.   Encouraged by volunteer helm, Dom Sharkey, Tom joined the station first as a Deputy Launching Authority, a responsibility he held for two years.  The role of Deputy Launching Authority is central to operations within all RNLI lifeboat stations, as they make the decision to launch the lifeboat when a request is made by the Coast Guard to do so. Once the decision to launch is made, crew pagers are activated and both lifeboat crew and shore crew immediately travel to the station to attend to the call out.  Watching volunteers train and launch on ‘shouts’, and encouraged by Liam Maloney, …

TEN people were assisted by Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat volunteers over the weekend in two separate incidents where cruise boats were reported to have run aground on the lake. On Sunday Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to launch to assist seven people on a 45ft cruiser. At 1.35pm the lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Owen Cavanagh, crew Steve Smyth, Tom Hayes and Michael O’Sullivan on board. While en route to the stricken vessel, Valentia reported a further three people in need of assistance on a separate 30ft cruiser. At 2.08pm the lifeboat had the initial casualty vessel in sight; aground on a shoal near Navigation Mark G on the Tipperary shore. Marine engineers from the cruise hire company arrived on scene at the same time. The lifeboat remained on standby until the engineers had the cruiser off the shoal and the scene was safe. At 2.30pm the lifeboat departed to assist the three people on the …

TWO people in need of rescue when their fishing boat engine failed on Lough Derg signalled their position to rescuers using torches as night had fallen. At 9.30pm on Thursday evening, August 26, Lough Derg RNLI who were out on exercise were requested by Valencia Coast Guard to assist the occupants of a 12 foot fishing boat just off the Goat Road, on the eastern shore of Lough Derg. The lifeboat with helm Eleanor Hooker, crew Doireann Kennedy, Tom Hayes and Ciara Lynch on board, immediately diverted from their exercise in Dromineer Bay to assist. The RNLI crew plotted a course to the Goat Road and monitored the fast moving vessels operating in the area on radar. Valentia Coast Guard informed the lifeboat that they had requested the casualties to uses lights to signal their location as the lifeboat approached. At 9.49pm as the lifeboat approached the Goat Road, the people on the casualty vessel indicated their position using torches. …