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
“Tiny” amounts of crude oil on the sea surface can damage seabird feathers, according to a University College Cork (UCC) study. Oil less than one percent of the thickness of a hair can cause harm, researchers from UCC’s Marine Ecology…
A new cross-border environmental network has been formed to press for action on marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Irish Sea. The new network involves Ireland’s Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), the Manx Wildlife Trust, the North Wales Wildlife Trust, the…
Transatlantic Rower Damian Browne Returns to Sea after Rescue to Row Cushlamachree Into Galway Docks
4th October 2022 Coastal Rowing
Well over a thousand people turned out to welcome transatlantic oarsman Damian Browne home to Galway docks yesterday morning after he survived his fifth capsize and was washed ashore in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Hours after he was…
Transatlantic Rower Damian Browne Makes History After Being Swept Ashore At Furbo In Force 9 Gale
4th October 2022 Coastal Rowing
Transatlantic Rower Damian Browne is due to be welcomed at Galway docks this morning after he was swept into rocks in a force nine gale in the early hours of this morning. The extreme adventurer was not injured after his…
Transatlantic Rower Damian Browne Due into Galway Docks On Tuesday Morning (Video)
3rd October 2022 Coastal Rowing
Extreme adventurer Damian Browne rowed into Galway Bay after his transatlantic crossing and is due into Galway docks from 10.30 am on Tuesday. The former Connacht rugby player will have become one of a handful to have rowed both ways across…
Legislation to protect the basking shark in Irish waters has been welcomed by the Social Democrats but the party has called for a protection plan for the fish. As reported by Afloat, the protective measures for basking sharks under the…
Legislation giving the basking shark “protected wild animal” status has been signed into law by two Government ministers. The move, which was first announced last March, has been made official by Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm…
Damian Browne Determined to Row into Galway After Arduous Transatlantic Crossing
2nd October 2022 Coastal Rowing
“I see land and it’s Ireland”. After sending that WhatsApp message from sea several days ago, former Connacht rugby player Damian Browne could have berthed in Kerry by now after rowing 3,500 nautical miles across the Atlantic. However, the extreme…
Flares Up: A Story Bigger than the Atlantic - New Book Reveals Drama of Transatlantic Rowing Adventure
1st October 2022 Wavelength Podcast
English firefighter Paul Hopkins (55) had recovered from a brain haemorrhage and entrepreneur Phil Pugh (65) was renowned for undertaking extreme physical challenges in honour of his son when they rowed into Antigua in a fourth-hand wooden rowing boat in…
Lines of light showing projected sea level rise in Galway city is part of a collaborative project involving scientists and artists which will extend across a number of Irish coastal areas this year. Línte na Farraige aims to provoke a…
A mural paying tribute to Irish and Norwegian explorers Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen has been unveiled by Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland Mari Skåre in Athy, Co Kildare. The mural of Shackleton by artist Eloise Gillow records Amundsen’s words on hearing…
The European Commission has approved extending an Irish scheme to refund employers' social security contributions for seafarers on certain vessels until December 2028. The aim of the scheme is to increase the attractiveness for Irish shipping companies to employ seafarers,…
Dutch Safety Board Investigates "Increasing Congestion" Caused by Wind Farms and Shipping in North Sea
22nd September 2022 Power From the Sea
The Dutch Safety Board says it has initiated an investigation into the “increasing congestion” caused by wind farms and shipping in the North Sea. The safety board, which investigates shipping, aviation, railway and industrial accidents in the Dutch State, said…
Sod Turned On 5.3 million Euro Coast Guard Station for Bunmahon, Co Waterford
21st September 2022 Coastguard
Two junior ministers have turned a sod on the construction site of a new Coast Guard station at Bunmahon, Co Waterford. A sum of 5.3 million euro is being invested in the new station, according to Minister of State with…
Belfast the Only Port Ready for Offshore Wind Construction, Report Says
21st September 2022 Belfast Lough
Belfast is the only port on the island of Ireland which is ready to construct offshore wind farms, according to a new study published by Wind Energy Ireland. The national ports study published at the body’s annual offshore wind energy…
Turbot “new” islander Hanneke Frenkel is hosting an exhibition of her “sea carpets” made from ocean flotsam and jetsam as part of this year’s Clifden Arts Festival in north Connemara. Frenkel, who bought a cottage with her Dutch husband Stefan…
Wooden Mast on Dutch Historic Sailing Ship Which Killed Three People Rotting For At Least Four Years
17th September 2022 Tall Ships
A wooden mast which broke suddenly on a Dutch historic sailing ship and killed three people on its deck had been rotting for at least four years beforehand, the Dutch Safety Board has found. In the two years prior to…
Coastwatch Appeals for Volunteers for Annual Month-Long National Shore Survey
17th September 2022 Coastal Notes
Coastwatch has appealed for volunteers to join its annual autumn shore survey, which runs from mid-September to mid-October. “This is now one of the longest standing citizen science projects in Ireland,” Coastwatch founder Karin Dubsky says. ” It’s a basic…
Sea Swimmers Maybe Better Protected Against Harmful Organisms - Research
16th September 2022 Wavelength Podcast
Preliminary research into the impact of harmful organisms in bathing water suggests that regular sea swimmers leading a healthy life may have some protection. University of Galway expert Prof Dearbháile Morris cautions that the indications are preliminary, and require more…
Appeal for Participants in First Children and Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss
14th September 2022 Marine Wildlife
Young people with an interest in biodiversity loss in marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments have been invited to apply to join Ireland’s first national children and young people’s assembly dedicated to the issue. The new Children and Young People’s Assembly…
