Tributes have been paid to the bravery of a Rescue 118 winchman and members of the Aran Fire and Rescue for their safe recovery of a man swept off the cliff at Poll na bPéist on Inis Mór last weekend.
The alert was raised when a group of visitors on the middle ledge overlooking Poll na bPéist were engulfed by a large wave which injured several and knocked one man down to the bottom ledge.
This middle ledge has already been the location for a number of incidents, given that visitors are unaware that even at that height they are at severe risk in certain sea conditions.
In April 2015, a 21-year old Indian visitor Apu Gupta was swept off it and saved by a Clare-based paramedic, Séamus McCarthy and the Rescue 115 helicopter.
In 2019, two Italian brothers, Giovanni and Riccardo Zanon, were knocked off the same middle ledge and were lifted to safety by Rescue 115 winchman Phil Wrenn. Wrenn was subsequently conferred with the Billy Deacon award for his efforts.
A number of visitors on the top ledge witnessed the most recent incident and called the Irish Coast Guard. The RNLI Aran lifeboat was tasked, as was the Sligo-based Rescue 118 helicopter.
The man, who sustained injuries to his arm and ribs, was continually washed by high waves and was in danger of being swept into the sea.
However, members of the Aran branch of Galway Fire and Rescue arrived on scene and managed to get a rope around the man, who was conscious.
The fire crew, wearing lifejackets and roped together, were continuously hit by large waves, but kept the casualty secure until the helicopter arrived.
Once lowered from the helicopter, the Rescue 118 winchman Ciaran Nott was then battered by one of the largest waves as he endeavoured to place the casualty into a rescue sling.
Fortunately, he was able to grab hold of the fire crew’s rope as he pinned the casualty to the cliff face to protect him from the full force of the Atlantic swell.
Both were then winched up and recovered into the aircraft where the casualty was treated and flown to University Hospital, Galway.
Islanders say the winchman is a “medal candidate”, given what he had to face and endure. The helicopter crew should also be recognised for the rescue, they say, as should the RNLI Aran lifeboat crew who stood off the area in heavy sea conditions.
There is no clear warning sign for tourists who may not be familiar with the sea conditions on certain days at Poll na bPéist.
Islanders note that no local would ever go near the rock formation, in the shape of a pool, on a day with heavy sea swell.
“In these swells, the wave gathers and develops, and is much bigger than you expect,” one resident said.
