Work to start on Doolin Coast Guard Unit

Work is scheduled to start within the next few days on the construction of a €1.9 million state-of-the-art headquarters for the Doolin Coast Guard Unit.

The 25-strong unit currently operates from a 150-year-old shed which is prone to flooding, cramped in size and not even big enough to house the unit’s custom-built rescue and recovery boat. The tiny shed has no shower or toilet facilities or even an area to treat casualties.

The unit’s boat, a Delta RIB, has to be towed two kilometres by tractor from a member’s home where it is stored and, in the past, parking problems in Doolin village and close to the pier have delayed the launch of the rescue craft.

Contracts for the project have now been signed and preliminary site works are expected to begin as early as next week. The new station will provide a garage area for the storage of boats, cliff rescue, personal equipment and transport, as well as changing facilities and an operations room.

Doolin Coast Guard officer, Mattie Shannon, said that after years of campaigning, they were delighted that work will at long last start and emphasised that a new station is essential to ensure that their resources as a modern day rescue service are maximised.

Deputy Pat Breen has welcomed the news that construction is set to begin on provision of a permanent facility.

“This is great news for the Doolin Coast guard and their volunteers, who have had to work in difficult conditions over the years while putting their lives on the lines every day to save others.  The construction of this new facility finally comes after years of campaigning and I would like to pay tribute to the Doolin Coast guard, their volunteers and the local community. I am delighted that their rescue work is now being recognised through the provision of this new headquarters.

“The upgrading of the Coast guard facility is also good news for the entire area.   Over 3,000 tourists visit Doolin every summer and with a number of tourist amenities on its doorstep, Lahinch, Ailwee Caves and the Cliffs of Moher. This infrastructure is badly needed,” he said. 

The Doolin unit covers a wide area of north and west Clare while the team is also responsible for Inis Oír, the smallest of the Aran Islands, where seven more volunteers are based.

Last year, the unit was involved in 40 search-and-rescue operations.