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
Students from Norway and other countries are participating in a higher diploma in aquabusiness which is now in its fourth year in Wexford. A total of 19 students have registered for the one-year part-time diploma in “business in aquabusiness” which…
Celebrity Chef "Fish Fight" Campaign's Unintended Consequence - An Increase in Fish Quotas
24th November 2020 Fishing
A well-intentioned campaign by a celebrity chef to reduce dumping of unwanted fish in European waters has led to an increase in fishing quotas, according to new research. The “unintended impact” of the European ban on discarding fish may lead…
Experienced open water swimmer Paddy McNamara has appealed to people to be mindful of sea safety after he rescued a young man from Galway Bay yesterday. McNamara pulled the man in his early twenties from the water after he got…
New Investment in Connemara Seaweed Plant as Covid 19 Benefits Harvesting
24th November 2020 Seaweed
Hand-harvesting seaweed on the Irish Atlantic coast experienced an unexpected boost due to Covid-19, according to Canadian-owned seaweed company Arramara Teo. Construction workers with coastal connections opted to supplement incomes on the shoreline, and there are now large quantities in…
Mounting Concern Over Impact on Smaller Craft & Marine Mammals of Lifting of Inshore Ban on Larger Vessels
23rd November 2020 Fishing
If Fungie or any similar solo bottle-nosed dolphin had a notion to settle in an Irish harbour, they could be in stiff competition for feeding on sprat and juvenile herring. As The Irish Examiner reports today, there is mounting concern…
Galway Harbour father and son Patrick and Morgan Oliver have recorded another rescue, saving a swimmer who got into difficulty off Salthill on Saturday morning. The Olivers were fishing off Salthill in Galway Bay on Saturday morning when a swimmer…
"Swim where you are" is the message from a Galway charity which normally relies on Christmas Day sea swims for fundraising. Cope Galway is asking people both at home and abroad to register online and swim - or sponsor a…
RNLI Appeal to Walkers Not to Try to Swim Ashore if Caught by Tide After Galway Rescue
16th November 2020 RNLI Lifeboats
Galway RNLI's deputy launching authority (DLA) has appealed to people not to try to swim ashore if caught in a tidal situation while walking. Paul Carey, DLA at the Galway station, issued his appeal after the rescue of a man…
Inishturk Island Reports Good Season in Spite of Covid 19 - & No Room for Trump
15th November 2020 Island News
Over four years ago, the Mayo island of Inishturk was inundated with inquiries after the word went out that it was offering a safe haven for North Americans who had not voted for Donald Trump. Now, even Mr Trump himself…
MCIB Report Identifies Lack of Planning & Communication Difficulties in Report on Deaths of Two Men in Sea Angling Incident off Donegal
13th November 2020 MCIB
Lack of sufficient planning and lack of adequate emergency communication were factors in an incident where two of three men on a sea angling trip lost their lives off the Donegal coast over two years ago. “Restrictive” procedures with the…
New Study Finds Coral in Ireland's Deepest Submarine Canyon Survives Extreme Conditions
10th November 2020 Marine Science
Irish cold-water corals can survive in extreme conditions within Ireland’s largest submarine canyon on the Porcupine Bank, a new study has found. The coral even grows on precipices of high cliffs, and can withstand sea current speed of over 114…
A new fast ferry for the Aran islands was unloaded in an operation lasting several hours in Galway Bay on Friday. The new 40m (131ft) vessel, costing several million euro, was built in Hong Kong. It will be operated by…
When the funeral of Galway fishermen Martin and Tom Oliver left Claddagh church yesterday, the silence among hundreds of people lining the route was broken only by the roar of the river Corrib and the gentle sound of wind in…
Two researchers from Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) are among leaders of a €10.4 million project to assess the significance of marine resource exploitation over the past 2,000 years. Archaeology, history and environmental science experts will collaborate in the “4-Oceans” project,…
Galway City Council has opened an online book of condolences for Martin and Tom Oliver, the father and son who died after a fishing accident in Galway Bay earlier this week. Tom Oliver (37) was pulled overboard their vessel on…
The Galway fishing and wider marine community is in shock over the death of a young fisherman from a well known Claddagh family on Monday afternoon. The fisherman, whose name has not yet been released, was working on the deck…
Ireland and the Antarctic Treaty and the conservation of Ernest Shackleton’s Quest ship’s cabin in Connemara’s Letterfrack are among topics for this year’s Shackleton autumn school which takes place online on Saturday (Oct 31). “Virtually Shackleton” is hosted online by…
Environmental & Fishing Groups Make Joint Appeal to Reinstate Inshore Trawling Ban
30th October 2020 Fishing
Environmental and commercial fishing groups have joined forces to call for a restoration of a ban on trawling by larger vessels within six nautical miles of the coast. Marine life such as dolphins, small scale fishing vessels and sea birds…
Record Year for Rescues as People Turn to Coast & Waterways During Covid-19
28th October 2020 Rescue
Rescue agencies are reporting a record year for incidents on the water as thousands of people turned to the coastline, lakes and rivers during Covid-19. The Irish Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland have all been under pressure to…
New Review Board Appointed into Draft Final Rescue 116 Helicopter Crash Report
27th October 2020 Rescue
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has appointed a new review board into the Air Accident Investigation Unit’s (AAIU) final report on the Rescue 116 helicopter crash. As The Irish Independent reports today, the review experienced a setback last month when…
