Tag Archives: RNLI

THERE will be a welcome on the mat for all this Sunday at Fr Ted’s House in the heart of the Burren. The hosts, Cheryl and Patrick McCormack, will be on hand to offer tea and scones. Visitors to the house made famous as the ‘parochial house’ for Fr Ted Crilly in the award-winning TV series Father Ted, between 6pm and 9pm on Sunday evening will be asked to part with €10, as a fundraiser for the RNLI. John and Shelly Galvin of The Clare Champion are promoting the event in recognition of the outstanding work being carried out by the RNLI lifeboat personnel all over the country. John lauded the bravery of crew members in facing into very difficult situations to deal with emergencies on sea and inland waterways

THE beautiful setting in the heart of the Burren at Kilnaboy, where stands one of the most famous country houses used in the filming of the Fr Ted series, will play host to an evening to support the RNLI Lifeboats. The hosts will be Cheryl and Patrick McCormack. The doors of Fr Ted’s house will swing open to the public on Sunday, April 30 from 6pm to 9pm. The house is set under the shade of Mullaghmore, with its twisted rocks and the hills of the Burren. It is an evening not to be missed, as there will be music and song and host Patrick McCormack will share some of the poetry he has written of his experience living in this beautiful landscape. There will be tea and scones for everyone and there is plenty of parking at the house. The event was launched in Fr Ted’s house by Lauren Guilfoyle from Feakle and Shelly and John Galvin from The …

A postmortem is due to be carried out today (Friday) on the body of a man recovered from a canal in Killaloe yesterday morning. The alarm was raised before 9am when a person was seen in the water close to Killaloe bridge. The Irish Coast Guard was alerted and the Killaloe unit launched their boat and made their way to the scene. Other members of the team travelled to the scene by road. The boat crew located and recovered the body from the water and the man was subsequently pronounced dead. The man’s body was removed to University Hospital Limerick. Believed to be in his 60s, the man had not been reported missing.

Once you reach a certain age, New Year’s Eve should be spent in front of the telly, watching whatever rubbish is on, but sometimes you want to do something completely different. This New Year’s Eve, I found myself in a car, heading for Fanore in the company of Joe Queally, RNLI stalwart and Dave Courtney, a former Coastguard helicopter pilot. Our mission was to climb Sliebh Elva and light candles for the souls lost at sea and for our own families. Even leaving Ennis, the rain was coming down but by the time we hit Fanore and joined Doolin Coastguard, Tom Doherty and his partner Celine Kennedy, it was coming down like stair rods. I confess, I wasn’t well prepared. I forgot to bring my waterproof trousers and had to borrow a pair from Tom. My boots weren’t best suited to the conditions either. I really needed wellies to properly deal with the lakes of water that flooded the trail. …

FIGURES compiled by Clare County Council reveal that 414 potential accidents were avoided at Clare’s nine Blue Flag beaches during the four weekends in June, due to the presence of on-duty lifeguards. The figures, which were released on Wednesday, show that four swimmers were rescued by lifeguards from the water, 68 people received first aid treatment, lifeguards reunited lost children with their guardians on six occasions, while safety advice was provided on 1,667 occasions. Clare County Council employs full-time lifeguard cover at Bishops Quarter (Ballyvaughan), Seafield IN Quilty and at Clare’s nine Blue Flag beaches from 11am to 7pm daily during July and August and on weekends during the month of June every year. “We want families and all visitors to our beaches to enjoy themselves but to be mindful of the importance of water safety awareness,” Clare McGrath, Clare Water Safety Development Officer said. “Many of the incidents related to informing and assisting bathers who had knowingly or unknowingly …

WHILE not yet fully confirmed, the body recovered from the shore in Labasheeda on Tuesday is reported to be that of a Limerick man. It is believed that the man has been missing since late last year. The body was spotted shortly before 5pm on Tuesday by the Shannon Rescue Helicopter on the shore, close to the townland of Colmanstown. The helicopter had been on a training exercise. Kilrush RNLI and the Kilkee Coastguard Unit were called to help with the recovery operation while the helicopter returned from Shannon with two Gardai. Officer in Charge of the Irish Coastguard Unit in Kilkee, Martony Vaughan, outlined the groups role in the recovery. “We were tasked just before 5pm on Tuesday to assist the Gardai in Labasheeda at Colmanstown Castle with the recovery of a body from the shoreline. We proceeded to the area and we assisted the Gardai with the recovery. The casualty was about a kilometre from road access so …

AWARD-winning Clare Champion photographer, John Kelly, is celebrating 25 years with the newspaper and, to mark the milestone, he will launch a special exhibition of his work on Friday, November 6 at Glór. “When I joined The Clare Champion in 1990, I remember covering the county show in the Showgrounds in Ennis and shooting 27 rolls of film. I went there and shot everything around me. Now, it’s about holding back and observing,” John said of the way his approach to photography has changed over the years. “I’ve learned now that you’re maybe watching and looking out for photographs and seeing what develops, rather than just looking at it in the moment. It’s about knowing that something can develop and putting your efforts into getting better rather then more photographs.” John said there are certain similarities between acquiring good timing as a photographer and being in the right place in a sporting context. “Someone said to me it’s like in …

THERE was great excitement in Cratloe this week, after a local boy scooped a vintage car in a charity fundraiser. Ten-year-old Eoin Deegan was the lucky recipient of a stylish 1969 Triumph Vitesse in the event, organised by the Clare Crusaders Children’s Clinic, Clare Suicide Bereavement Support, the RNLI and Doolin Search and Rescue. It proved to be the start of a lucky streak for Eoin, as he also won €40 from the Sixmilebridge lotto draw on Monday night. He is the son of Joan and Mike Deegan, a former Clare selector and current coach of the Cratloe senior hurlers. “We are delighted to win the car. It has generated great excitement in the house. I texted my six sisters and five brothers telling them we had won a vintage car but none of them would believe me,” mum Joan said this week. Joan’s father-in-law, Phil Deegan, who has a keen interest in vintage cars, has now taken the Triumph …