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
EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius is due to begin a two-day visit to Ireland this morning with a visit to Killybegs fisheries harbour in Donegal. The commissioner plans to meet representatives of the fishing industry…
UCC Confirms its Marine Life Survey Staff Were on Light Aircraft Which Crash Landed on Wexford Beach
24th September 2021 Marine Wildlife
University College Cork (UCC) says it is providing support to its staff who were passengers on the aircraft that was forced to make an emergency landing at Carne beach in Co Wexford on Thursday. The staff were conducting marine life…
Plastic Pollution Remains Much Longer Than Previously Thought in River Systems, New Research Finds
24th September 2021 Marine Wildlife
Plastic pollution remains in river systems for much longer than previously thought, new research has found. Microplastics may travel at less than 0.01km per hour, a University of Leicester study indicates. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common material for single-use plastic…
Birdwatch Ireland "Deeply Concerned" Over Court Refusal to Continue Interim Inshore Trawling Ban
24th September 2021 Fishing
Birdwatch Ireland says it is “deeply concerned” at a refusal by the Court of Appeal to continue the Government’s interim ban on large vessels fishing inside the six nautical mile zone. The stay was applied for by Minister for Marine…
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Measuring Sulphur Emissions From Shipping
21st September 2021 Ports & Shipping
The EU is using remotely piloted aircraft to monitor sulphur emissions released by ships transiting one of the world's busiest shipping lanes through the Straits of Gibraltar. Some 27 ships of a total of 294 inspected since July 12th were…
RMS Carpathia’s Role in Rescuing 705 Titanic Survivors Told by Belfast Author Flora Delargy
17th September 2021 Wavelength Podcast
Harold Cottam was a 21-year old radio operator who was on duty on the night of April 14th, 1912 on board passenger ship RMS Carpathia when he received a Morse code message he would never forget. Nor would the world,…
The artists’ exhibition of 21 currachs used as canvases which ran over the summer on the Aran island of Inis Oírr transfers into NUI Galway for Culture Night. Irish international sculptor John Behan RHA, Tuam-based visual artist Jennifer Cunningham, Mayo-based…
Galway's Blackrock "Men Only" Bathing Ban Recalled in Culture Night Documentary
16th September 2021 Sea Swim
It is 50 years ago since a “Men Only” sign was removed from the entrance to Galway’s Blackrock swimming area. Before this, bathing was officially segregated in Salthill on Galway Bay, at the request of Catholic bishops who believed mixed…
An Spidéal, Sean Waddilove's "Coolest Place to Sail", Hosts Annual Regatta this Weekend
16th September 2021 Galway Harbour
When Irish Olympic sailor Sean Waddilove was asked to name his “coolest” location to sail from, he chose An Spidéal in Co Galway. Waddilove, who represented Ireland with Robert Dickson in their 49er dinghy in Japan, is from Skerries, Co…
Kerry Marine Biotech Company Wins Award for Seaweed-Based Crop Stimulant
15th September 2021 Seaweed
Marine biotech company Brandon Bioscience has won an Enterprise Ireland award for a new product that draws extracts from common brown seaweed. The extract can be used as a crop "bio-stimulant" in fertiliser, which has the potential to reduce chemical…
Research Warns of Need to Manage Competition Between Inshore Fishers & Marine Mammals
15th September 2021 Marine Wildlife
New research led by the University of Oxford says that successful conservation policies for marine mammals have increased the potential for conflict with small scale fishing communities. The study published in the journal Conservation Letters says that management has to…
Eye Witnesses to Low Flying Helicopter on Kerry Beach Question Closure of Investigation
14th September 2021 Coastal Notes
Eyewitnesses to an incident where a helicopter cruised at low level in thick fog across a popular Kerry beach have questioned why the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is not pursuing it further. Video footage of the incident shows the helicopter…
A TG4 documentary on Donegal's Tory island has won an award at the Celtic Media Festival. The documentary entitled Treibh na nDéithe explores the life of a community on the "margins" of Ireland and Europe. The co-production between Ireland and…
Maritime Area Planning Bill is Not Solely Designed “to Help the Offshore Renewable Sector Get What it Needs”, Warns Coastwatch's Karin Dubsky
3rd September 2021 Wavelength Podcast
The new Maritime Area Planning Bill is not solely designed “to help the offshore renewable sector get what it needs”, Coastwatch co-ordinator Karin Dubsky has warned. The legislation, which marks a first for the State in marine planning, is “for…
EU Approves €10m Under State Aid Rules for Irish Fishing Sector Affected by Brexit
3rd September 2021 Fishing
The EU has approved a 10 million euro scheme to support the Irish fishery sector affected by Brexit and the consequent reduction in quota shares. The 10 million euro funding under State aid rules is separate to the 5 billion…
Barra, Méabh, Pól and Seán are among the names that have made it on the latest international storm list for 2021 to 2022. Diarmuid was put to a vote along with Duncan, Dudley and Dafydd. However, Dudley was the winner…
A French registered fishing vessel has been detained by the Naval Service approximately 110 nautical miles south of Mizen Head. The detention by LÉ William Butler Yeats was "in relation to alleged breaches of fishing regulations", the Defence Forces press…
Marine is a Theme for Galway Bay Transition Year Students Working with Senior Citizens
19th August 2021 Wavelength Podcast
Sea and sky, as in the marine and astronomy, were twin themes of this year’s “Young Hearts”, a field programme involving transition year students working with senior citizens in Galway. Tutors Dr Noirin Burke of Galway Atlantaquaria, artist Vicky Smith…
Tributes have been paid to former lightkeeper and maritime historian Bill Scanlan, who died this summer after a long illness. “A treasure to Galway, the city he loved and was so proud to promote to everyone he met,” is how…
White-Tailed Sea Eagle Chicks Released on Shannon Estuary & Three Other Sites
15th August 2021 Marine Wildlife
Wildlife service staff released 21 white-tailed sea eagle chicks to the wild over the weekend at four sites in Munster, including Lough Derg and the Shannon estuary. Chicks were also released in Waterford and Killarney National Park as part of…
