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Dublin Bay Boating News and Information

Displaying items by tag: missing

A group searching for a woman missing near the Cliffs of Moher has contacted Afloat.ie in an appeal for her whereabouts.

Pauline Walsh was last seen on Tuesday 6 August in the Hag’s Head area in Co Clare, and since then family and friends have been searching the coastline from Black Head to below Doonbeg, the group says.

According to the Irish Mirror, the 54-year-old from Tullamore in Co Offaly is described as five feet seven inches in height, of a medium build, with blue eyes and short blonde hair.

When last seen she was wearing a pink fleece, black tracksuit bottoms and black runners with pink writing and trim.

Anyone sailing or fishing in the relevant areas of Co Clare and Galway Bay who might have any information about Pauline Walsh’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Garda at Tullamore or any Garda station, or call the confidential line at 1800 666 111.

Published in Coastal Notes

Lifeboats from Clogherhead, Newcastle and Kilkeel were involved in the search for a woman missing in Carlingford Lough at the weekend, which came to a sad end yesterday afternoon (Monday 18 March) with the discovery of a body in the water off Greenore.

Newcastle RNLI was tasked to divert from a morning training exercise on the Co Down coast to join the major search operation which began on Sunday (17 March), concentrating on the entrance to Carlingford Lough and outlying islands.

During this search the all-weather lifeboat located a casualty in the water and, working with volunteer lifeboat crews from Clogherhead and Kilkeel RNLI, the casualty was taken ashore to Greenore Harbour by the Kilkeel lifeboat and placed in the care of An Garda Síochána.

The casualty was shortly after confirmed to be the remains of Ruth Maguire from Newcastle, who went missing during a hen party in Carlingford on Saturday night (16 March).

Speaking following the search, Newcastle RNLI coxswain Nathan Leneghan said: “On behalf of Newcastle RNLI I wish to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the woman who was recovered from the water this afternoon.

“The thoughts and prayers of the everyone involved in the search are with them at this sad time. I also wish to commend the volunteer crews for their commitment and professionalism.”

Kilkeel RNLI lifeboat operations manager John Fisher added: “This was not the outcome we or the family wanted and at this difficult time our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the casualty.

“At this time I would also like to thank the volunteer crew for their commitment and energy. We train for such an incident but always pray that it has a better outcome.”

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

#Missing - A body was recovered yesterday evening (Monday 10 September) in the search for a missing man on Lower Lough Erne, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

A major search operation was launched in Sunday afternoon after an incident involving a personal watercraft in Muckross Bay.

One man was rescued after swimming to shore but a second had disappeared.

Searches continued into Monday, with the PSNI confirming the body of a man was recovered from the lough later in the day.

“It would appear that what had started out as an exciting afternoon on a jet ski unfortunately has now ended with a fatality,” said Ulster Unionist MLA Rosemary Barton.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Missing - The PSNI and emergency services launched a major search operation yesterday afternoon (Sunday 9 September) when a man was reported missing after an incident with a personal watercraft on Lower Lough Erne.

According to RTÉ News, one man was rescued after swimming to the shore following the incident in Muckross Bay around 5.30pm.

An RNLI spokesperson said the search for the second individual is ongoing, and involves the PSNI boat and the Irish Coast Guard’s Rescue 118 helicopter from Sligo as well as fire and mountain rescue services.

Elsewhere, The Irish Times reports that a 12-year-old boy was rescued after falling on rocks at Bullock Harbour in Dalkey yesterday afternoon. The child, with a suspected ankle injury, was airlifted to hospital by the Dublin-based coastguard helicopter.

Published in News Update

US emergency services have suspended the search for a Limerick man missing after going swimming at a New York beach earlier this week.

As Independent.ie reports, Neil Gibbons, 30, disappeared after he and friends got into difficulty in the water off Long Beach in the early hours of Monday (25 June).

It’s understood that the incident occurred close to where 10-year-old Ramell McRae Jr went missing while swimming last week.

The body of a young boy was recovered in the search for McRae on Monday.

The US Coast Guard announced on Tuesday (26 June) that it has suspended the search for Gibbons “pending any new information”.

Independent.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Galway - A body was found this morning (Friday 13 April) in the search for a swimmer missing off Salthill in Galway since yesterday.

The Irish Coast Guard’s Shannon-based helicopter Rescue 115 spotted the body on the seabed in shallow water offshore around 10.15am this morning as part of the ongoing search operation.

The body was recovered into Galway RNLI’s inshore lifeboat for transfer to Galway University Hospital. Pending formal identification, the search will be stood down. 

Search units involved included An Garda Síochána and Civil Defence teams, and volunteer divers provide by the Irish Underwater Council.

Published in Galway Harbour

#Missing - Emergency responders recovered a body a last night (Thursday 23 November) in the search for a missing fisherman off Galway.

The body was found on the shore in Oranmore Bay, some five nautical miles east of where a fishing boat was discovered adrift yesterday hours into the search.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the major air and sea operation was launched after a fisherman was reported missing on Wednesday night.

RTÉ News says the body found last night was brought to University Hospital Galway for a post-mortem examination and identification.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Missing - RTÉ News reports that a major air and sea rescue operation has been launched for a fisherman reported missing off Galway last night (Wednesday 22 November).

A fishing boat was found adrift with no occupant west of Blackrock in Salthill shortly after the search resumed at first light this morning.

RNLI lifeboats from Galway and the Aran Islands are involved in the search with the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter in the search, and they have since been joined by local fishing boats.

Published in News Update
Tagged under

#Missing - The search continued today (Tuesday 19 September) for a sea angler who was swept into the sea from a popular but treacherous fishing spot near Doonbeg in Co Clare at the weekend.

According to TheJournal.ie, the missing man and a friend, both Russian nationals, had been fishing at Pulleen Bay around 6.30am on Saturday morning (16 September) when he went into the water.

When his friend’s attempt at a rescue was unsuccessful, he is believed to have panicked and driven 60km way to Limerick to raise the alarm.

“This has happened in the past in Clare where non-Irish nationals fishing in very dangerous areas, who have little English or no English … panic and have driven miles upon miles, passed Garda stations and people on the road to raise the alarm,” said local journalist Pat Flynn.

Naval Service divers and local diving clubs have joined a number of Irish Coast Guard units from the area in the search, which has been hampered by poor visibility due to heavy coastal fog.

Meanwhile, as the Clare Herald reports, coastguard search teams expressed their dismay over the weekend as several groups of anglers continued to climb out to the rocky head where the missing man was swept away.

Published in News Update

#Missing - Emergency services are scouring the coastline around Scarborough in north-east England after a yacht with no crew ran aground near the town early this morning (Tuesday 16 May).

According to the Guardian, the yacht, named Don’t Panic and with two on board, left Scarborough around 5.30pm yesterday evening. A local fishing crew reported seeing the boat aground off the West Pier some 11 hours later.

Almost a year ago, the same vessel prompted a warning to fellow sailors over its lack of radio and safety equipment after its skipper telephoned for help over engine failure.

Published in News Update
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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

© Afloat 2020