Skerries RNLI responded this afternoont to reports of swimmers in difficulty off a local swimming area known as The Springers.

The pagers sounded shortly before midday after Dublin Coast Guard received reports that a number of swimmers were caught in a rip current and were unable to get back to shore.

Skerries RNLI volunteers launched the lifeboat with David Knight at the Helm and crewed by Philip Ferguson, Emma Wilson and AJ Hughes.

Arriving on scene the crew discovered that there were four casualties in the water spread over a large area in between Red Island headland and Colt Island. The lifeboat quickly began recovering the casualties into the lifeboat.

With a large sea swell running and the casualties suffering from fatigue and early symptoms of hypothermia, it was necessary for one of the Skerries RNLI volunteers, Philip Ferguson to enter the water to assist them in getting on board.

Once all the casualties were on board the lifeboat returned to the station and recovered immediately to the warmth of the boathouse. Once inside the boathouse the casualties were assessed, monitored and treated for mild hypothermia but were all fit and well leaving the station.

Skerries Coast Guard unit and the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 were also tasked. The helicopter stood by while the lifeboat recovered the casualties from the water.

Speaking after the call out, Gerry Canning, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for Skerries RNLI said: ‘Rip currents are a major cause of accidental drowning on beaches across the world. Even if you know an area well, the currents may change based on the weather and tides. The speed of response is crucial in cases like this and our volunteers did an excellent job in getting there as safely and quickly as possible. ’

Two people were rescued from the water earlier this evening in Killyleagh, Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland after falling overboard from a dinghy.

A member of the public made a 999 call to the UK Coastguard at 7.00pm to report that they could hear shouts for help coming from the water at Killyleagh. Portaferry Coastguard Rescue Team and the Portaferry RNLI Lifeboat made their way to the incident.

Only minutes before the RNLI arrived, the Killyleagh Yacht Club Rescue boat reached the scene and found two people in the water. One person had fallen from the dinghy and was found clinging to the stern of moored vessel and the other person was clinging to a dinghy that was drifting out to sea.

The two casualties were taken to the Killyleagh Yacht Club, where one was treated for hypothermia by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

#RNLI - Lifeboats from Arklow and Bangor were out on the water for separate callouts on May Day yesterday in what made for a busy weekend for the RNLI crews.

In Arklow, RNLI lifeboat volunteers were alerted by pager around 7pm on a fine Sunday evening (1 May) to a call for help from a vintage sailing vessel.

The lifeboat Ger Tigchleaar was launched within minutes to the classic boat, which has suffered engine failure and was stranded just east of Arklow Harbour.

The Arklow RNLI volunteer crew established a tow line and proceeded to tow the vessel safely back into Arklow. The five experienced crew members on the casualty vessel remained aboard during the tow home and all hands came ashore safely at Arklow.

Speaking after the incident, volunteer lifeboat press officer and community safety officer Mark Corcoran said: "On this, the RNLI’s Mayday fundraising weekend, our fundraising team and boats crew have been busy with all kinds of fundraising events.

"Even after a long day of fundraising our dedicated volunteers turned up this evening en masse to go to the aid of the crew of this stricken vessel.

"We’re all very proud to be involved with the RNLI, so please give generously to the Mayday campaign to help keep us doing what we do, which is saving lives at sea."

Elsewhere on the same evening, Bangor RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew launched to the aid of a RIB with engine failure just off Royal North Yacht Club in Belfast Lough.

Although not in immediate danger, a strong breeze was blowing the vessel, with one person on board, offshore. Thankfully the Bangor inshore lifeboat was able to tow the RIB in to Royal North without incident.

Bangor RNLI volunteer helmsman Gareth Whan said: “The crew and I are delighted to have been able to return this vessel safely to shore. Engine failure can happen in the best-maintained boat, and we are pleased to have been able to help.”

This was Bangor RNLI’s second callout of the weekend. On Friday evening (29 April) they were asked by Belfast Coastguard to assist Lagan Search and Rescue and other emergency services in a detailed search of Belfast Harbour for a person in the water.

Sadly, this callout did not have a happy ending. The search was called off after three hours, and resumed on Saturday morning. However, it was only yesterday (Sunday 1 May) when a body was found by police divers.

Bangor RNLI extended its sympathies to the family of the man and all involved in the attempted rescue.

“It is sadly appropriate that both of these launches happened during the May Day weekend, a key fundraising time for the RNLI, and highlight the importance of the work our volunteers do,” said Bangor's deputy launching authority Bryan Lawther.

#Coastguard - Northern Ireland coastguard teams have taken part in a major rescue exercise The Gobbins in Co Antrim ahead of the cliff path's reopening this May Day weekend, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

As many as 50 volunteers from Kilkeel, Newcastle, Ballycastle, Coleraine and Portmuck carried out various cliff rescue exercises, including a mock evacuation of multiple casualties.

The path has undergone a number repairs after significant storm damage forced its closure in December, just months after the 'white-knuckle' attraction welcomed its first visitors since the 1950s.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

#Rescue - A lobster fisherman was rescued after getting tangled in his vessel's ropes when it overturned off the Donegal coast on Saturday evening (9 April).

As TheJournal.ie reports, the rescue of the solo fisherman proved difficult for local coastguard and lifeboat teams due to the heavy swell at Inishinny, off Arranmore Island.

That's when the Sligo-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118 came in to free the man from his vessel and winch him to safety.

Rescue 118 was later called out to rescue a number of surfers in difficulty of the Leitrim coast, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

#Rescue - Belfast Coastguard was "stuck for words" after bystanders failed to raise the alarm for an elderly man who fell into the water at Bangor Marina this week.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, the man was working on his boat at the marina on Belfast Lough when he slipped into the water just after 11am on Thursday morning (31 March).

He was reportedly moments away from drowning before he was rescued by Graham Edgar, who described a group of onlookers at the marina who failed to call for help, or even throw in one of a number of lifesaving devices nearby.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

#Coastguard - Dublin's Irish Coast Guard helicopter was involved in a rescue off the north-east of Ireland early this morning (Tuesday 16 February), as Independent.ie reports.

Rescue 116 assisted Belfast Coastguard in the medevac of a fisherman who suffered head injuries on a trawler 25 miles off Carlingford, Co Louth.

The man was airlifted to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry where his condition is not yet confirmed.

#Coastguard - Poor weather conditions forced the Irish Coast Guard to abort its search for a missing fisherman off the Clare coast yesterday evening (Monday 8 February).

As Breaking News reports, the missing individual is understood to have fallen overboard from a fishing trawler in the North Atlantic some 330km off Clare.

The Shannon-based coastguard SAR helicopter Rescue 115 was dispatched to the scene but was forced to return to base within half an hour due to the worsening conditions as Storm Imogen swept in.

The long-range mission came just days after the medevac of a crewman from a Russian vessel off Valentia last Friday (5 February), as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

#Rescue - Lagan Search and Rescue's RIB is set to return to action this weekend after a crowdfunding campaign helped fund repairs, according to BelfastLive.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the rescue boat for the Belfast area was forced out of service after vandals pulled a hydraulic ram out of its steering system, causing damage that was "both labour intensive and costly".

But after a crowdfunding effort raised nearly £900 (€1,176) – including a single £500 (€653) contribution – the necessary repairs were made this week, with only stress tests remaining before the Atlantic 21 lifeboat can return to the water.

BelfastLive has more on the story HERE.

#Shannon - A local man is in critical condition after the boat he was in capsized on the River Shannon in Castleconnell outside Limerick city early this morning (Thursday 4 February), as RTÉ News reports.

The man was one of four who were in the water for more than two hours clinging to their upturned vessel as rescuers struggled to reach them due to a fallen tree in the river.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.