Displaying items by tag: Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association

13th December 2022

Coastguard Volunteer Association Calls for Independent Enquiry

The national executive of the Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association says it is giving “full support” to Oireachtas members from County Clare who have called for an independent inquiry into Irish Coast Guard management.

This refers to an article in the Clare Champion newspaper quoting Clare TDs and Senators in a cross-party political call for an inquiry.

“We would like this to include the Minister of State with responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard, Ms Hildigarde Naughton TD; the Department of Transport including the Maritime Directorate and the Secretary General of the Department of Transport,” the Representative Association says.

It refers to a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee last May when its members submitted “problems faced by Coast Guard volunteers, particularly when any problems arise within Coast Guard coastal units.”

The Association says, in a statement, that “only a truly independent inquiry can address the questions that need to be addressed.”

“it is time to bring a just solution to the dismissed volunteers that would like to present their own individual case before any independent inquiry.”

Published in Coastguard

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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of. For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water. The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.