Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Rescue

#Rescue - BreakingNews.ie reports on the rescue of a man from the water at Dollymount Strand on Monday morning (27 October).

Emergency services were dispatched to the scene after a passer-by expressed concern for a person seen in the cold water at the Bull Island beach.

Some 30 minutes later the casualty was sighted by Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 and winched on board.

The man was found to be unconscious and diagnosed with severe hypothermia, and was taken to Beaumont Hospital for treatment.

Two days previous a similar alert at the same beach for a kitesurfer in difficulty was stood down, as the Irish Examiner reports, when the man in question was discovered to have made the lengthy swim back to shore.

Published in Rescue
Tagged under

#Rescue - RTÉ News reports on two separate coastal rescues off Rosslare and Bray Head yesterday (Sunday 12 October).

One man fell overboard from Irish Ferries' Oscar Wilde ferry sailing out of Rosslare Europort about an hour after leaving port.

The passenger was recovered from the water and returned to Rosslare, from where he was taken to Wexford General Hospital.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day another man was hospitalised with head and back injuries after a fall while climbing Bray Head with friends.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

Published in Rescue

#Rescue - Lifeboat volunteers on the Dorset coast went to the rescue of a man attempting to sail to America in a 14ft dinghy, as NewsTalk.ie reports.

Mudeford RNLI were launched after reports from a passing yacht that had concerns about the solo offshore boater.

On arrival, the lifeboat crew found the Bulgarian national on the dinghy was "exceedingly cold, wet and violently ill" yet was refusing their assistance.

They soon ascertained that the 30-year-old man, who has a US visa, had bought the dinghy earlier that day, packed it with some meagre supplies – without any suitable safety equipment or navigation aids – and set out to cross the Atlantic.

"He would have died [if we left him there," said lifeboat crewman Pete Dadds. "He was severely sea sick, he had the first signs of hypothermia and his boat was filling up with water."

NewsTalk.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in Rescue

#TwitterDog - A little dog who survived a 90-metre fall into the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday 3 August has thanked his rescuers - via his own Twitter account.

TheJournal.ie has much more on the story of Vimes the dog, who was plucked from the water below Lookout Point in Co Clare by the Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard on Sunday afternoon

Vimes was very fortunate to avoid sustaining any injuries as he fell down the cliff face, as The Irish Times reports, and is now safe at home making a full recovery.

Published in Rescue
Tagged under

#Diving - A group of scuba diving enthusiasts had a lucky escape yesterday (Saturday 2 August) after their boat drifted towards rocks off the Clare coast, as Independent.ie reports.

The six divers and the boat's skipper had been on an expedition in Liscannor Bay less than half a kilometre from the shore when the boat suffered engine failure.

The group was left adrift as weather conditions deteriorated, but the Irish Coast Guard's Doolin unit responded swiftly, along with the Shannon-based coastguard helicopter Rescue 115.

Independent.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving

#Rescue - The Southern Star reports on the rescue of a swimmer in Lough Hyne by two passing kayakers last Sunday (27 July).

West Cork Kayaking Club members Declan McCarthy and David Sprott were within earshot of the man's call for help as he got into difficulty off Castle Island and rushed to his aid.

Another swimmer nearby joined the kayakers in guiding the man to the safety of the shore.

The Southern Star has more on the story HERE.

Published in Rescue
Tagged under

#Diving - Minister Leo Varadkar has confirmed that diving teams who regularly assist in emergency operations will not qualify for grants available to volunteer rescue groups.

As TheJournal.ie reports, volunteer teams such as those under the Mountain Rescue Ireland and Community Rescue Boats Ireland umbrellas are in receipt of payments or grants of up to €5,000.

But no such payments are available to volunteer diving groups that provide assistance for Naval Service and Garda dive teams, which are co-ordinated by the Irish Coast Guard.

In response to a Dáil question from independent deputy Denis Naughten, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport said that, while "regrettable", it is "not envisaged" to extend rescue volunteer funding to sub-aqua groups. TheJournal.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving
Tagged under

#Coastguard - Four members of Sligo's Irish Coast Guard helicopter crew are in Canada this week to receive a prestigious award for their efforts in the rescue of a climber from the Bluestack Mountains.

As The Irish Times reports, the four men - Capt Paul Forbes, co-pilot Paraic Slattery, winch operator John McCartney and winchman Conal McCarron - have been picked from a shortlist of 200 for the American Helicopter Society's Fredrick L Feinberg award in recognition of their daring rescue on 15 May last year in extremely difficult conditions.

On one of the final missions for the Sligo coastguard unit's Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, the crew hovered just feet from a sheer cliff face in total darkness and high winds to retrieve the climber, who had broken his leg.

It's not the first time the Rescue 118 crew have been lauded for their bravery on that day, as they've previously received an award from the helicopter's manufacturer.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastguard
Tagged under

#Coastguard - The Irish Times reports that a nine-year-old boy is in critical condition after falling into the sea near Blackhead lighthouse in Co Clare on Sunday 4 May.

The Irish Coast Guard's Shannon-based rescue helicopter airlifted the unconscious boy - who had been in the water for over an hour before he was found by emergency crews - and taken to Galway University Hospital for treatment.

Published in Coastguard
Tagged under

#Rescue - Two tourists have been rescued after falling from cliffs at Howth Head yesterday afternoon (Saturday 5 April).

Howth Coast Guard Cliff Rescue volunteers immediately reported to the scene at Lion's Head after 5pm, where they found a teenage boy calling from help from the cliff face some 20 feet from the top.

Working quickly as the teen was at risk of slipping further down the cliff, rescuers lowered a rope to secure him before a winchman from Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 was able to reach the casualty, who had minor injuries, and lift him aboard.

Meanwhile, the second casualty, an older male, was found to have fallen 150 feet to the beach at the foot of the cliffs.

He was stabilised by paramedics while Rescue 116 prepared to airlift him to Tallaght Hospital for treatment. His condition is not yet known.

Published in Rescue
Tagged under
Page 15 of 33

Ireland's offshore islands

Around 30 of Ireland's offshore islands are inhabited and hold a wealth of cultural heritage.

A central Government objective is to ensure that sustainable vibrant communities continue to live on the islands.

Irish offshore islands FAQs

Technically, it is Ireland itself, as the third largest island in Europe.

Ireland is surrounded by approximately 80 islands of significant size, of which only about 20 are inhabited.

Achill island is the largest of the Irish isles with a coastline of almost 80 miles and has a population of 2,569.

The smallest inhabited offshore island is Inishfree, off Donegal.

The total voting population in the Republic's inhabited islands is just over 2,600 people, according to the Department of Housing.

Starting with west Cork, and giving voting register numbers as of 2020, here you go - Bere island (177), Cape Clear island (131),Dursey island (6), Hare island (29), Whiddy island (26), Long island, Schull (16), Sherkin island (95). The Galway islands are Inis Mór (675), Inis Meáin (148), Inis Oírr (210), Inishbofin (183). The Donegal islands are Arranmore (513), Gola (30), Inishboffin (63), Inishfree (4), Tory (140). The Mayo islands, apart from Achill which is connected by a bridge, are Clare island (116), Inishbiggle (25) and Inishturk (52).

No, the Gaeltacht islands are the Donegal islands, three of the four Galway islands (Inishbofin, like Clifden, is English-speaking primarily), and Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire in west Cork.

Lack of a pier was one of the main factors in the evacuation of a number of islands, the best known being the Blasket islands off Kerry, which were evacuated in November 1953. There are now three cottages available to rent on the Great Blasket island.

In the early 20th century, scholars visited the Great Blasket to learn Irish and to collect folklore and they encouraged the islanders to record their life stories in their native tongue. The three best known island books are An tOileánach (The Islandman) by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig by Peig Sayers, and Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Former taoiseach Charles J Haughey also kept a residence on his island, Inishvickillaune, which is one of the smaller and less accessible Blasket islands.

Charles J Haughey, as above, or late Beatle musician, John Lennon. Lennon bought Dorinish island in Clew Bay, south Mayo, in 1967 for a reported £1,700 sterling. Vendor was Westport Harbour Board which had used it for marine pilots. Lennon reportedly planned to spend his retirement there, and The Guardian newspaper quoted local estate agent Andrew Crowley as saying he was "besotted with the place by all accounts". He did lodge a planning application for a house, but never built on the 19 acres. He offered it to Sid Rawle, founder of the Digger Action Movement and known as the "King of the Hippies". Rawle and 30 others lived there until 1972 when their tents were burned by an oil lamp. Lennon and Yoko Ono visited it once more before his death in 1980. Ono sold the island for £30,000 in 1984, and it is widely reported that she donated the proceeds of the sale to an Irish orphanage

 

Yes, Rathlin island, off Co Antrim's Causeway Coast, is Ireland's most northerly inhabited island. As a special area of conservation, it is home to tens of thousands of sea birds, including puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots. It is known for its Rathlin golden hare. It is almost famous for the fact that Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, retreated after being defeated by the English at Perth and hid in a sea cave where he was so inspired by a spider's tenacity that he returned to defeat his enemy.

No. The Aran islands have a regular ferry and plane service, with ferries from Ros-a-Mhíl, south Connemara all year round and from Doolin, Co Clare in the tourist season. The plane service flies from Indreabhán to all three islands. Inishbofin is connected by ferry from Cleggan, Co Galway, while Clare island and Inishturk are connected from Roonagh pier, outside Louisburgh. The Donegal islands of Arranmore and Tory island also have ferry services, as has Bere island, Cape Clear and Sherkin off Cork. How are the island transport services financed? The Government subsidises transport services to and from the islands. The Irish Coast Guard carries out medical evacuations, as to the RNLI lifeboats. Former Fianna Fáíl minister Éamon Ó Cuív is widely credited with improving transport services to and from offshore islands, earning his department the nickname "Craggy island".

Craggy Island is an bleak, isolated community located of the west coast, inhabited by Irish, a Chinese community and one Maori. Three priests and housekeeper Mrs Doyle live in a parochial house There is a pub, a very small golf course, a McDonald's fast food restaurant and a Chinatown... Actually, that is all fiction. Craggy island is a figment of the imagination of the Father Ted series writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, for the highly successful Channel 4 television series, and the Georgian style parochial house on the "island" is actually Glenquin House in Co Clare.

Yes, that is of the Plassey, a freighter which was washed up on Inis Oírr in bad weather in 1960.

There are some small privately owned islands,and islands like Inishlyre in Co Mayo with only a small number of residents providing their own transport. Several Connemara islands such as Turbot and Inishturk South have a growing summer population, with some residents extending their stay during Covid-19. Turbot island off Eyrephort is one such example – the island, which was first spotted by Alcock and Brown as they approached Ireland during their epic transatlantic flight in 1919, was evacuated in 1978, four years after three of its fishermen drowned on the way home from watching an All Ireland final in Clifden. However, it is slowly being repopulated

Responsibility for the islands was taking over by the Department of Rural and Community Development . It was previously with the Gaeltacht section in the Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.

It is a periodic bone of contention, as Ireland does not have the same approach to its islands as Norway, which believes in right of access. However, many improvements were made during Fianna Fáíl Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív's time as minister. The Irish Island Federation, Comdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, represents island issues at national and international level.

The 12 offshore islands with registered voters have long argued that having to cast their vote early puts them at a disadvantage – especially as improved transport links mean that ballot boxes can be transported to the mainland in most weather conditions, bar the winter months. Legislation allowing them to vote on the same day as the rest of the State wasn't passed in time for the February 2020 general election.

Yes, but check tide tables ! Omey island off north Connemara is accessible at low tide and also runs a summer race meeting on the strand. In Sligo, 14 pillars mark the way to Coney island – one of several islands bearing this name off the Irish coast.

Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire is the country's most southerly inhabited island, eight miles off the west Cork coast, and within sight of the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, also known as the "teardrop of Ireland".
Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast, which has a monastic site dating from the 6th century. It is accessible by boat – prebooking essential – from Portmagee, Co Kerry. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was not open to visitors in 2020.
All islands have bird life, but puffins and gannets and kittiwakes are synonymous with Skellig Michael and Little Skellig. Rathlin island off Antrim and Cape Clear off west Cork have bird observatories. The Saltee islands off the Wexford coast are privately owned by the O'Neill family, but day visitors are permitted access to the Great Saltee during certain hours. The Saltees have gannets, gulls, puffins and Manx shearwaters.
Vikings used Dublin as a European slaving capital, and one of their bases was on Dalkey island, which can be viewed from Killiney's Vico road. Boat trips available from Coliemore harbour in Dalkey. Birdwatch Ireland has set up nestboxes here for roseate terns. Keep an eye out also for feral goats.
Plenty! There are regular boat trips in summer to Inchagoill island on Lough Corrib, while the best known Irish inshore island might be the lake isle of Innisfree on Sligo's Lough Gill, immortalised by WB Yeats in his poem of the same name. Roscommon's Lough Key has several islands, the most prominent being the privately-owned Castle Island. Trinity island is more accessible to the public - it was once occupied by Cistercian monks from Boyle Abbey.

©Afloat 2020