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
Spanish Vessel Detained by Naval Service Near Rockall Had Allegedly Been in Earlier Confrontation off Scotland
25th July 2020 Navy
A German-registered Spanish fishing vessel detained last week by the Naval Service near Rockall had been at the centre of an alleged confrontation off the Scottish coast last month. As The Irish Examiner reports, the 29-metre Pesorsa Dos was detained…
Coastwatch has welcomed a High Court decision closing the Waterford estuary to razor shell dredging without proper environmental assessment. The ruling has implications for fishing activity on marine sites which are designated as Natura 2000 locations, Coastwatch director Karin Dubksy…
US Astronaut Kathy Sullivan on Deep Sea Diving, Living Through a Pandemic & Ocean Health
19th July 2020 Marine Science
US astronaut and oceanographer Dr Kathryn Sullivan has compared the current global situation to being in the midst of a severe storm on a sailing boat in mid-ocean. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Dr Sullivan, who has Irish…
Floating Wind Technology a "Game Changer" for Ireland -Eirwind Blueprint Forecasts
15th July 2020 Power From the Sea
Cork harbour could become central to Ireland’s development as an international centre for hydrogen energy technology, a new offshore wind blueprint by the Eirwind consortium forecasts. As The Irish Examiner reports today, Ireland could be exporting bulk hydrogen as part…
Independence of Marine Casualty Investigation Board 'Not Guaranteed', European Court of Justice Rules
13th July 2020 MCIB
The European Court of Justice has ruled the State’s marine incident investigating body is not independent due to the presence of two civil servants on its board. In a judgment issued late last week, the European Court of Justice (ECJ)…
A documentary on how Tory island’s late king Patsy Dan Rodgers led his community’s efforts to secure their rights and a study of a “maverick islander” are scheduled for Galway Film Fleadh’s online programme this weekend. French filmmaker Loic Jourdain…
Ireland's First Floating Offshore Wind Farm: Explorations off Cork Coast
7th July 2020 Power From the Sea
An Irish renewable energy company is exploring the development of this island's first floating offshore wind farm close to the Kinsale gas field. Youghal company Simply Blue Energy is already involved with French giant Total in a project to build…
The common challenges faced by island communities will be shared during the second global Virtual Island Summit which takes place in September. Some 140 ambassadors representing some 10,000 islanders will participate in the summit online from September 7th to 13th.…
Newly appointed marine minister Barry Cowen has said he regrets an incident where he was disqualified from driving four years ago after being breathalysed. The Fianna Fáil TD for Laois-Offaly and brother of former Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who was appointed…
Japanese researchers have found that whale sharks have protective “armour” around their eyeballs in the form of tiny teeth. Japan's Okinawa Churashima Research Centre scientists studied the eyes of both living and dead whale sharks, which can grow to 18-metres…
Gales Cushion Impact of Island Reopening to Visitors - Sean Kyne Plays Down Impact of Social Media Post
5th July 2020 Island News
Gales over the weekend have cushioned the impact of full re-opening of offshore islands to visitors as COVID-19-related restrictions are eased. However, there has been a steady increase in traffic to the Aran islands, served currently by one ferry from…
When three Connemara islanders drowned on their way home in a currach from watching the All-Ireland football final on television in Clifden in 1974, their loss had such a devastating impact that most of the residents of Turbot evacuated four…
Public consultation on developing a network of offshore wind farms to meet Ireland’s climate targets has been extended by three weeks. An original deadline of July 1st for the public’s views on how offshore wind energy should be modelled has…
Ireland Gets Maritime Oil Pollution Plan - Almost 34 Years After Kowloon Bridge Sinking
29th June 2020 Coastguard
Irish Coast Guard deputy director Gerard O’Flynn has hailed as a “milestone” the publication of the State’s framework for handling major maritime pollution incidents. The plan released by the outgoing government last Friday (June 26) fulfils long-awaited commitments made after…
Little Skellig - The "Ultimate Retreat" Discovered By Archaeologist & Climbers
28th June 2020 Island News
Little Skellig– the inaccessible sister crag to Skellig Michael - was long thought to have been inhabited only by gannets, fulmars and other seabirds. However, as The Sunday Times reports today, archaeologist Michael Gibbons and a group of climbers have…
"Fear of Law Suits" May Have Influenced Government Decision to Approve Early Reopening of Islands
27th June 2020 Island News
Outgoing Gaeltacht minister Sean Kyne has expressed disappointment at the Government decision to approve early re-opening of offshore islands to visitors from Monday (June 29). The Attorney General had advised the Cabinet that there could be legal consequences if it…
West Cork Vessel's Sinking in Co Down Identifies Need for Navigation Planning & Exercise Drills, Report States
27th June 2020 West Cork
The need for formal navigation planning has been highlighted in a Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) report on the sinking of a West Cork fishing vessel in Ardglass harbour, Co Down last year. The report on the sinking of the…
Increased use of wet wipes during the Covid-19 pandemic is already exacerbating the “plastic crisis” in oceans, an NUI Galway (NUIG) team says. Some 50 per cent of wipes labelled as “flushable” are not biodegradable and contain microplastics which are…
Island Federation Calls on Government & Health Officials to Explain Safe Re-opening After Covid
22nd June 2020 Island News
The Irish Islands Federation has called on the Government to provide “clear guidance and protocols” on the safe re-opening of islands to visitors. The federation, Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, has also called on the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET)…
Gaeltacht Minister Opposes NPHET Decision on Early Opening of Offshore Islands
22nd June 2020 Island News
Gaeltacht Minister Sean Kyne says he opposes the National Public Health Emergency Team’s (NPHET) decision on an early lifting of travel restrictions to and from offshore islands. The decision to allow travel to and from offshore islands to resume from…
