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Displaying items by tag: Kesh River

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels and waterway users on the Erne System that dredging operations on the Kesh River in Co Fermanagh are continuing.

Dredging at the mouth of the Kesh River (West Section) has been completed as of this week, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Dredging on the two other river sections (Central and East) was scheduled to commence on Tuesday 29 August and will continue until Friday 22 September.

During this time the river will be closed to boating traffic from 8am to 6pm Mondays to Fridays, adds the cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways.

Published in Inland Waterways

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels on and users of the Erne System that dredging operations will commence on the Kesh River at Lower Lough Erne this Tuesday 18 July.

Dredging will occur at two locations along the Kesh River and at the mouth of the river in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

Dredging on the two river sections (Central and East) will continue for approximately two weeks until Wednesday 2 August. During this time the river will be closed to boating traffic from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday.

Dredging will then commence at the mouth of the Kesh River (West Section) on Thursday 3 August and will continue for approximately three weeks until Friday 26 August 2023.

The navigation will be open during the dredging at the mouth of the river but boaters should expect delays, advises the cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways.

Published in Inland Waterways

Northern Ireland’s inland waters have seen a third fish kill in as many months after hundreds of dead trout were found in a Co Fermanagh river, as BBC News reports.

The grim discovery in the Kesh River on Wednesday (1 September) comes just days after the Three Mile Water in Co Antrim was struck by its second fish kill incident of this summer.

Ian Grimsley of Kesh and District Angling Club said the incident — which claimed not only brown trout and river trout but juvenile salmon, perch and more — was the worst of its kind he had witnessed in the area in 40 years.

And like last week’s fish kill in Newtownabbey, he fears “it’ll take years to bring it back again”.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has launched an investigation, with the origin of the river pollutant as yet unknown. BBC News has more on the story HERE.

Published in Angling
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Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset

 

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

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