Rescue crews had a very busy weekend on the west coast with back-to-back taskings as people took to the water in the good weather.
The Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat has recorded ten callouts over the past week between July 12 and 19th, bringing the July total to 14 to date.
Two call-outs on Saturday 18th involved a medical evacuation from Inis Mór and assistance for a 12 to 13m sailing ketch which had engine failure off the Skerd rocks.
The Aran lifeboat had been en route to assist a vessel off Carna when it was diverted to take the medical evacuation, as the Shannon R115 rescue helicopter was in the area.
Ready Response: The Aran Islands RNLI all-weather lifeboat launched repeatedly during a demanding week which saw the volunteer crew answer ten callouts between 12 and 19 July, including a medical evacuation and a yacht rescue.
There were three call-outs for the Aran crew on Sunday July 12th, and four more between Monday 13th and Wednesday 15th.
Aonghus O hIarnáin, Aran Islands RNLI Coxswain, has paid tribute to his volunteer crew and has reminded people to check weather and tides before venturing out, always wear a lifejacket or suitable flotation device for your activity and carry a means of communication.
The volunteer crew of Clifden RNLI also had a busy Saturday with two operations taking place in quick succession resulting in the rescue of seven people.
The lifeboat crew were first tasked by the Coast Guard on Saturday (18th) to reports of swimmers in difficulty near Mannin Bay.
Both of Clifden's lifeboats were put to sea immediately with James Mullen as Coxswain on the all weather lifeboat, St Christopher and David O Reilly, Brian Ward, Darragh Wallace and Chris Nee as crew.
Clifden's Atlantic 85 lifeboat was helmed by Dave Barry with Shane Conneely, Ronan Mullen and Sean Pryce as crew.
Once at the scene, a short distance from Ballyconneely, the crew quickly located the swimmers. They were in good form and able to make their way back to shore unaided.
Not long after returning to base the pagers went again, this time a family on a small pleasure craft were in difficulty near Turbot island.
The volunteer crew assembled for the second time, with John Mullen as coxswain on the all weather lifeboat, and with David O Reilly, Alan Pryce, Caroline Barry and Darragh Wallace on board.
James Mullen was helm on Clifden's Atlantic 85 with his son Ronan Mullen, Brian Ward and Shane Conneely as crew. Notably, it was the first shout for this father and son since Ronan joined Clifden RNLI as a 19 year old earlier this year.
The crew quickly made their way to the boat's location, near the small island of Turbot in Clifden Bay. In all, seven people were in danger because their boat was drifting towards the rocky shoreline of the island.
When the lifeboat crew arrived on scene the wind had blown the casualty vessel off the rocks and the family were able to get their engine restarted. The crew checked for any sign of structural damage or water ingress.
The casualties included two parents and five children who were very relieved to have assistance from the RNLI. The casualty vessel was escorted back to their mooring in Clifden Bay
Five children from the casualty vessel were transferred to Clifden's Atlantic 85 lifeboat and brought ashore while the parents came ashore on their small tender escorted by the Clifden's all weather lifeboat crew.
Doolin Coast Guard also towed a small boat into Inis Mór over the weekend, while Casla Coast Guard unit were called out to assist a vessel which had run aground.
