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Displaying items by tag: quarry

Two teenage boys have died in hospital after getting into difficulty swimming in a quarry lake in Ennis, as TheJournal.ie reports.

Emergency services were called to the scene at a quarry lake near Ennis, Co Clare at 3.30pm yesterday afternoon (Thursday 31 May).

It’s understood that the casualties were recovered from the water and airlifted to University Hospital Limerick in critical condition.

According to The Irish Times, the deceased have been named locally as Jack Kenneally and Shay Moloney, both aged 15.

Thirty children aged 14 and under have died by drowning in the last decade, according to Irish Water Safety’s recent campaign for vigilance on the water.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#WaterSafety - Four more people have drowned in separate incidents around Ireland as the heatwave continues.

As RTÉ News reports, a 24-year-old man died while swimming in the sea near Ardara in Co Donegal yesterday afternoon (20 July).

Later, the body of a second victim was recovered from the Shrule River in Newtownstewart, Co Tyrone after getting into difficulty.

A third man in his 60s is was drowned after failing to return from a swim in a quarry near Carrick-on-Suir. His body was recovered earlier today.

The tragedies follow news of a 19-year-old who drowned while swimming with friends in Lough Leane in Killarney on Friday evening (19 July).

And a woman in her 30s was lucky to be rescued after getting into difficulty swimming in the River Nore near Kilkenny. She is currently in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Irish Water Safety have renewed their appeal for the public to take extra care when taking to the water during this extraordinary hot weather that had already claimed seven lives as of Thursday last.

Published in Water Safety
Four divers were airlifted to hospital yesterday after getting into difficulty while exploring a flooded quarry in Portroe, Co Tipperary.
RTÉ News reports that one of the divers, a man in his 20s, was airlifted by the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter to Navy headquarters at Haulbowline in Cork, where he was treated in a decompression chamber.
His three companions were taken to Cork University Hospital as a precaution against decompression sickness.
A hospital spokesperson told the Irish Examiner that none of the group is in a serious condition, though all four are being kept under observation.

Four divers were airlifted to hospital yesterday after getting into difficulty while exploring a flooded quarry in Portroe, Co Tipperary.

RTÉ News reports that one of the divers, a man in his 20s, was airlifted by the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter to Navy headquarters at Haulbowline in Cork, where he was treated in a decompression chamber.

His three companions were taken to Cork University Hospital as a precaution against decompression sickness.

A hospital spokesperson told the Irish Examiner that none of the group is in a serious condition, though all four are being kept under observation.

Published in Diving

Irish Sailing Classes and Association – There’s no shortage of one-design classes from which to choose and each gives its enthusiasts great competition, fun and camaraderie, writes Graham Smith in this review of the classes. 

One-design racing is where it all starts. It is, after all, where all the top sailors earned their stripes, battling away for line honours without a thought for a handicapper’s calculator wiping away a hard-fought victory!

Indeed, you could count on less than one hand the number of top Irish sailors who didn’t cut their teeth in a one-design dinghy! Just think of Cudmore, Barrington, Watson, Wilkins, Hennessy and Dix to name a few and you realise that they honed their skills in everything from Enterprises to Lasers and a lot in between.

At present count, there are a little over 30 one-design classes in Ireland, split almost evenly between dinghies and keelboats, a statistic which might raise a few eyebrows. They range from the long-established Mermaids, IDRA14s and Dragons to the newer additions like Fevas, Topaz and RS Elite. They all fill a particular need and give their owners and crews considerable enjoyment.

Many have attracted their World or European Championships to Irish waters over the years and while 2009 is notable for a lack of such events here, the following year will see the Etchells Worlds at Howth and perhaps a few other international regattas too.

In addition to the review, we asked each class to complete a questionnaire giving details of their fleet numbers, whether they were on a growth pattern or holding their own, so we could highlight those ‘on the up’ and those remaining static in terms of numbers. The older traditional designs, as you might imagine, fall into the latter category, although that’s not a negative!

CLASS REVIEW  The State of the Classes – League Table (as at February 2009)

S = Static; U = Up/growing

275     Optimist   U

200+   Laser   S

189     Mermaid   S

160     Flying Fifteen   S

130     RS Feva   U

115     Shannon One Design    U

100+   Mirror   S

100+   Topper   U

99       Topaz   U

94       Laser SB3   U

87       GP14   U

85       Squib   S

70       Fireball   S

70       Ruffian   S

60       J24   S

60       Shipman   S

52       Dragon   S

50       RS400/200   S

50       420    U

43       Multihulls    U

42       Dragon    S

40       Water Wags    U

40       Wayfarer    S

34       IDRA14    U

33       Puppeteer    U

28       Etchells    S

27       E-Boat    U

26       Glen    S

25       Enterprise    S

18       Sigma 33    S

18       Howth 17    U

13       RS Elite    U