Lorna Siggins
Lorna Siggins is a print and radio reporter, and a former Irish Times western correspondent. She is the author of Search and Rescue: True stories of Irish Air-Sea Rescues and the Loss of R116 (2022); Everest Callling (1994) on the first Irish Everest expedition; Mayday! Mayday! (2004); and Once Upon a Time in the West: the Corrib gas controversy (2010). She is also co-producer with Sarah Blake of the Doc on One "Miracle in Galway Bay" which recently won a Celtic Media Award
Silent Anne Best Dressed Craft At Blessing of Galway Bay and Boats
8th September 2026 Galway Harbour
Silent Anne has been named best-dressed boat at the annual Blessing of Galway Bay and Boats ceremony. Mike Heenan received the award for Silent Anne during the event at the pier in the Claddagh Basin in Galway City. Fr Tom…
International ILCA Sailors Give Dublin Bay Worlds Venue Thumbs Up
6th September 2026 ILCA Worlds 2026
Dún Laoghaire and Dublin Bay won praise from international sailors and coaches during the ILCA Men’s World Championships, with visiting teams highlighting the varied sailing conditions, strong organisation and extensive volunteer support at the Irish venue. The championship brought 141…
ILCA Worlds Put Dún Laoghaire's Watersports Campus Plans to the Test
31st August 2026 ILCA Worlds 2026
“Probably the biggest collection of top sailors ever to have raced in Ireland” is how International Laser Class Association (ILCA) president Mark Lyttle describes the activity in Dublin Bay over the past week. Since the ILCA Men’s World Championships opened…
Scottish Fishing Vessel Ran Aground After Unwell Skipper Fell Asleep on Watch
19th August 2026 Fishing
A Scottish fishing vessel ran aground after its skipper fell asleep while on watch at night. A report by the British Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said that the crew of the 15.58m prawn trawler Silver Cloud II managed to…
A tiny red seaweed confirmed as completely new to science has been identified off Cornwall by the British public body Natural England. Underwater surveys of maerl beds off the south coast of Cornwall have uncovered a “remarkable array of rare…
Musician Glen Hansard who died in a motorbike accident early on Wednesday morning is being fondly remembered around the coast for his love of the sea, and the bonds he forged when he participated in the final leg of a…
Consultant Kieran Mulvey made the recommendation in a report prepared for Minister of State for Fisheries Timmy Dooley to inform a new five-year strategy for the fisheries sector under the Programme for Government. Mulvey said discussions across the sector consistently…
The Government has approved the drafting of the Maritime Area Planning (Marine Protected Areas) (Amendment) Bill 2026. The move will amend the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 and will provide a legislative basis for the designation and effective management of…
"Pinger" To Deter Dusty The Dolphin During Lifesaving Training in Clare The Focus of Public Consultation Meeting
6th July 2026 Marine Wildlife
Clare Water Safety is holding a “public engagement” tonight, Monday July 6th, on the use of a device to protect participants in its lifesaving programme from Dusty the resident dolphin. As Afloat has reported, Dusty is a solitary dolphin which…
"Major Boost" To Curlew Population Promised With Irish-British Initiative
3rd July 2026 Marine Wildlife
A new collaboration involving conservation groups in Ireland and Britain aims to provide a major boost to the curlew population in Ireland, two Government ministers have said. A special licensing arrangement between Ireland and Britain will allow for the importation…
Ireland has become one of the few countries in the world to complete a detailed airborne geophysical survey, according to the Geological Survey Ireland (GSI). After "16 years and over 440,000 km of flying", the survey known as the Tellus Programme…
Ringsend and District Historical Society is hosting a cruise in Dublin Bay to celebrate Bloomsday. The trip by Dublin Bay Cruises will steam from Poolbeg marina to the Martello Tower at Sandycove on Saturday, June 13th - several days before the…
Construction of a very short canal in Oman on the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz could help to solve current issues with shippingsince the US invasion of Iran, according to economist Pablo Rodas-Martini.Writing on LinkedIn, the former chief…
Development of Ireland’s national designated maritime area plan (DMAP) is still “on track”, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment has confirmed. It expects the national D-Map to be adopted by the end of 2027, with offshore renewable energy…
MARA Study Raised Concerns About Impact of Surveys At Sea On Marine Life
27th May 2026 Marine Planning
A new study for Ireland’s marine regulator says that repeated geophysical and geotechnical surveys, which are also clustered and overlap with sensitive habitats, could negatively impact marine life.As Afloat has reported, the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) published a study…
Agricultural Run-Off and Sewage Threatening Seagrass Meadows on Northern Irish Coast
16th May 2026 Marine Wildlife
New research by Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) has found that seagrass meadows across Northern Ireland are under threat from severe pollution linked to agricultural run-off and sewage. Even meadows which have legal protection from human disturbance, such as marine protected…
Dooley Asks Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien To Pursue Issues Relating To FV Mary Kate
7th May 2026 Fishing
Minister of State for Fisheries Timmy Dooley has asked his Cabinet colleague Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien to take up issues relating to the former fishing vessel Mary Kate. In a letter to owner CJ Gaffney of Arklow, Mr Dooley…
Oyster Shells Can Remove Rare Earth Elements From Polluted Water - TCD Research
27th March 2026 Marine Science
Discarded oyster shells can capture and remove rare earth elements from polluted water, according to new research by a team at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). The research, which has been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, shows…
Fine Gael MEP Calls for Review of Mary Kate Case By Two Government Departments
19th March 2026 Fishing
Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly has called on two government departments to review the case of the fishing vessel Mary Kate and engage again with EU authorities. “It is disappointing that a thorough investigation has not yet been carried out…
At Least 38 New Marine Species Discovered in Japanese-Led International Expedition
13th March 2026 Marine Wildlife
A Japanese-led international expedition has discovered 38 new species and identified another 28 potential new species across two of Japan’s most understudied deep-sea regions. The Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census Expedition was undertaken in June 2025, in partnership with the Japan…
