Tag Archives: rescue

A man in his 60’s has been rescued from the River Fergus. Gardaí were alerted around 9.30 last night after a man got into difficulty close to the bridge on the N85 ring-road near Clareabbey in Clarecastle.. Three units of the Ennis Fire Service, including a specialist Swift Water Rescue Team, were sent to the scene, while the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was also alerted, but was later stood down. Members of An Garda Síochána located the man beneath the bridge and attempted to reach him by wading into the water before fire service personnel brought him to safety. The man was transferred into the care of the ambulance service.

  A 28-year-old man has died in hospital after he was rescued from the River Shannon at Castleconnell, Co Limerick yesterday. Three other men, aged in their 20s and 30s, are being treated for hypothermia at University Hospital Limerick. The man was submerged in water for more than two hours after a fifteen foot aluminium safety boat capsized, plunging him and the three others into the water at “World’s End”, Castleconnell. Four units of Limerick Fire and Rescue assisted in the multi-agency rescue operation, along with the Killaloe Coastguard, Limerick Marine Search and Rescue, the Ambulance Service, Gardaí and the Shannon-based rescue helicopter. When responding emergency crews arrived they found the boat wrapped around a tree in the middle of the raging swell. Some of the men were clinging to the boat while others were stuck on debris along the tree line. Members from the Limerick Fire and Rescue Service entered the river from the shoreline while Killaloe Coast Guard …

A BODY was recovered off the Clare coast, close to Loop Head, this morning. A person who is involved with the Kilrush lifeboat was fishing off the coast at around 10am, when he saw the body and made a call to the lifeboat station. The lifeboat crew were then paged and the vessel was launched about 20 minutes later. The body was recovered at about 11.15am and was said to be in a bad state of decomposition, apparently having been in the water for some weeks. The body was brought back to Kilrush and the last rites were performed by Fr Martin Blake. It was subsequently brought to University Hospital Limerick for a post mortem. Kilrush lifeboat received support from the local gardai and the Kilkee Coastguard Unit during the recovery.

Killaloe Coastguard rescued four men following two emergency calls on Lough Derg on Friday evening. The thirty second callout this year was to two men on board a small lake boat near Two Mile Gate on the Clare shore. The duo had been on board a cruiser, which was anchored at Two Mile Gate, but due to the strong wind and rough water they got into difficulty. A friend raised the alarm and rang emergency services. Killaloe Coast Guard launched their rib while a land crew went to Two Mile Gate by road. Within 15 minutes of being paged, the Killaloe Coast Guard crew had taken the two men on board their rescue boat and brought them safely back to the cruiser. After returning to base and standing down, the crew heard a call for help on their VHF radio on CH16. The crew were then tasked by Valentia Coast Guard to relaunch and make their way to Mountshannon where …

Members of Killaloe Coast Guard Unit responded to two call outs on Saturday night – one to a man who suffered a suspected heart attack and the second to a cruiser which ran aground on Lough Derg. The man was airlifted to hospital after he suffered cardiac arrest on board a boat at Banagher. The Killaloe unit was alerted and responded as did the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115. Ambulance paramedics and gardaí also went to the scene where the boat had moored at Banagher. The man was removed by the helicopter crew and flown to Galway University Hospital. While returning to their base at Killaloe, the unit was directed to a second emergency call. A 40-foot cruise boat with five people on board had run aground south of the Silly Island on Lough Derg. Conditions were bad with darkness setting in. Shore teams were also sent to the area by road and a stricken cruiser was …

CARRIGAHOLT village came to a standstill on Wednesday afternoon for the funeral of Bernie Mahoney, Moveen, who died in a drowning accident on Sunday morning in Poulnasherry Bay. As he was brought to St Mary’s Church in the West Clare fishing village, Mr Mahoney was flanked by a guard of honour from O’Curry’s GAA Club, whom he represented for many years. In his late 30s, Mr Mahoney, a father of three, whose youngest child was due to be baptised last Sunday, was one of four people, including his brother, oyster collecting when tragedy struck. His three friends were rescued by brothers, Roger and Stephen Little, who live in Carnacalla, Kilrush. The brothers, who are experienced boats people, were alerted when their dogs barked incessantly at hearing calls for help, close to 3am on Sunday. “It was just pure luck. We came home at the right time,” Roger Little, who works as a tug boat captain for Dublin Port, explained. “I …

A South-East Clare community is in mourning this week after a Broadford pensioner died suddenly at Lahinch beach on Sunday afternoon. He has been named locally as Patrick O’Connell, Doon Road, Broadford. The 72 year-old man was paddling in shallow water about six to eight inches deep when he collapsed suddenly and fell down with what is believed to a suspected heart attack shortly after 3 pm.The incident took place about 30 yards out from the shoreline at the north end of the Lahinch promenade. According to Lahinch Search and Rescue secretary, Tomsie O’Sullivan two women and a man pulled the man in from the water on the beach where one of them, who was a qualified nurse proceeded to give Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Mr O’Sullivan recalled he was contacted by the Valentia Coast Guard service to confirm that an incident had taken place that required assistance and he confirmed this with two lifeguards who were aware of what had …

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.