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Displaying items by tag: Dun Laoghaire

The Irish Coast Guard’s Dun Laoghaire unit launched to the rescue of a family of four cut off by the tide on Sandymount yesterday afternoon, Saturday 25 July.

Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard were tasked to incident along with the local RNLI’s inshore lifeboat and the Dublin-based coastguard helicopter Rescue 116.

The two adults and two children were retrieved from their sandbank by the helicopter crew, who landed them at a safe spot on land where they wiremen by a coastguard team. All were found to be in good spirts.

Emergency services remind the public if you see anyone in difficulty in or near the water to dial 112/999 immediately and ask for the coastguard.

Published in Rescue

Dun Laoghaire’s coastguard unit was tasked yesterday (Sunday 12 July) to assist paramedics with a casualty who had fallen down steps at the Forty Foot bathing spot.

Dun Laoghaire RNLI’s inshore lifeboat was also in attendance at the scene, where local lifeguards in Sandycove treated the casualty before the arrival of emergency services.

Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard says the patient was stabilised and stretchered to an awaiting ambulance for further care.

Published in Rescue

Royal St George Yacht Club members are invited to join Peter Pearson as he takes a journey back in time with an engaging talk about the history of the Dun Laoghaire Waterfront club.

Peter is a native of Dun Laoghaire and has had a long association with the town and harbour, producing well-known local history books such as Dun Laoghaire: Kingstown and The Forty Foot: A Monument to Sea Bathing.

The special online talk will be hosted on the Zoom platform this Thursday evening 18 June from 7.30pm. Club members can register via the link on the Facebook post HERE.

Published in RStGYC

Dun Laoghaire's heritage harbour has not escaped the vandalism of graffiti 'artists' this summer. Unoccupied cut-stone buildings on the town's West Pier are the latest to be blighted by the spray can.

A number of vacant harbour buildings including those on the West Pier will be part of the upcoming new plan for the harbour as Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council attempts to breathe new life into the victorian structures.

Expert advice on strategic advice and an economic plan for the harbour on Dublin Bay is being sought by the Council.

As Afloat previously reported, a leading maritime figure at Ireland's biggest boating centre has called on the Council to plan for the appropriate development of the harbour as a maritime leisure centre.

The council says graffiti poses a significant problem throughout the Dun Laoghaire area. To report graffiti, contact 01 2054817 or email [email protected]

Dun Laoghaire RNLI launched the station’s inshore lifeboat to assist two people onboard a small rowing boat on Dalkey Sound yesterday afternoon (Sunday 7 June).

The volunteer crew of three immediately launched the lifeboat at 1pm after a report from the Irish Coast Guard of two people onboard a small rowing boat having difficulty getting back to shore.

The crew — consisting of helm Nathan Burke, Laura Jackson, and Jack Shanahan — arrived at the scene 15 minutes later and took the rowing boat under town and back to shore at Coliemore Harbour.

Jackson, who is also Dun Laoghaire RNLI’s community safety officer, said: “It is important to highlight the RNLI and Irish Coast Guard’s message at the moment asking people to take extra care when using the sea.

“Please make sure you have a plan of action in case you get into difficulty, always check the tide times and weather conditions along with having a method of communication to call for help if needed.

“Dun Laoghaire RNLI remains on call and is fully operational during the coronavirus pandemic. While there is no crew training or exercises taking place, our volunteers are here, ready to respond to those in need.”

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

On the same day that Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard assisted the local RNLI in aiding a boat in distress in Dublin Bay, the crew were also takes to investigate a mystery RIB on Killiney Beach.

It was quickly confirmed with locals, however, that the vessel had been beached the previous evening (Wednesday 27 May) and that the owner was aware and planned to reflect it at high tide.

More recently (Friday 29 May) Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard was tasked to get eyes on a jet ski reportedly broken down and adrift in Scotsman’s Bay.

A team was despatched to the area with RNLI Dun Laoghaire already en route. On arrival, the jet ski was located with the casualties taken aboard the RNLI offshore boat and the jet ski towed back to Dun Laoghaire Harbour to awaiting coastguard members.

With warm and sunny weather set to continue throughout the June Bank Holiday weekend, the coastguard appeals to the public to adhere to the safety advice and act responsibly in or near the water.

Seapoint, Sandycove and Killiney beach within the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area now have active lifeguards in place which the coastguard welcomes.

“With the weather staying warm and dry over the Bank Holiday this weekend, we remind everyone to keep within your 5km distance from home, keep two metres from others and dial 112 or use VHF Channel 16 if someone is in difficulty in or near water.”

Published in Coastguard

Kilrush RNLI’s inshore lifeboat aided in the rescue of a child swept out to sea on an inflatable lilo.

The incident yesterday afternoon (Thursday 28 May) occurred shortly after 3pm off Beal Strand on the Kerry shore of the Shannon Esturary.

It’s understood the casualty, a young girl, had been swept out to sea due to strong winds and tides in the area.

Lifeboat volunteers arrived on scene as the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 had located the casualty some distance from shore and winched a crew member to the water to assist her.

The girl — who was found to be distressed and had swallowed water — was assessed on board the lifeboat before being taken back to Beal Strand, from where she was transferred to Rescue 115 and flown to University Hospital Kerry in Tralee as a precaution.

Press officer Charlie Glynn said: “Thankfully this rescue had a successful outcome and the young girl was reunited with her family.”

He added: “As the current Covid-19 restrictions continue to apply, the RNLI are fully operational and on call 24/7. We ask everyone to follow Government travel instructions.”

Dun Laoghaire RNLI crew on the inshore lifeboat Realt Na Mara (Photo: RNLI/Liam Mullan)Dun Laoghaire RNLI crew on the inshore lifeboat Realt Na Mara | Photo: RNLI/Liam Mullan

Elsewhere yesterday, Dun Laoghaire RNLI launched its inshore lifeboat to a vessel with four on board believed to be sinking in Dublin Bay.

On arrival at the scene it was found the boat was not taking on water but had mechanical issues, and the lifeboat took it under tow to the safety of Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Edward Totterdell, Dun Laoghaire RNLI’s deputy launching authority, said: “It has been a busy week for our station and volunteer crew having responded to four callouts from the Irish Coast Guard so far.

“It is important to highlight the RNLI and Irish Coast Guard’s message this week asking people to take extra care when using the sea.

“Dun Laoghaire RNLI remains on call and is fully operational during the coronavirus pandemic. While there is no crew training or exercises taking place, our volunteers are here if people need us.”

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

Proposals for a ‘food court’ at Dun Laoghaire Harbour’s currently vacant ferry terminal have been welcomed by one leading local stakeholder.

In a written submission seen by Afloat.ie, Alistair Rumball of the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School supports the new plans as “the harbour area badly needs year-round footfall, employment, visitors and economic activity, that this change of use both facilitates and drives”.

As reported last month on Afloat.ie, the change is being sought on behalf of Lapetus Investments Ltd to replace the proposed ground floor restaurant and drink vending elements of planning permission approved last year for a mixed-used co-working development at the St Michael’s Pier site.

Rumball adds that, from the standpoint of his more than 40 years of experience in the marine industry, he believes this change of use “will not impinge on the use of berths alongside the former ferry terminal building for commercial vessels, nor restrict a future ferry service”.

The final date for observations on this planning application is this coming Monday 20 January.

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Planning permission is being sought to convert the ground floor of Dun Laoghaire’s ferry terminal building into a ‘food court’.

A site notice posted Tuesday 3 December on behalf of Lapetus Investments Ltd announces the intention to replace the proposed ground floor restaurant and food and drink vending elements of planning permission approved last year for a mixed-use co-working development at the St Michael’s Pier site.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has confirmed that there are no charges to view current planning applications that are online or if you visit County Hall on Marine Road.

A submission or observation may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of a fee of €20 within five weeks of receipt of the application by the authority.

Update: A previous version of this article stated that the planning application may be inspected or purchased “for a fee not exceeding a reasonable cost of making a copy” at the offices of Dun Laoughaire-Rathdown County Council’s planning department during public hours (weekdays 10am to 4pm). This has since been corrected by DLRCoCo.

Tagged under

Two scuba divers were rescued on Dublin Bay this afternoon by Dun Laoghaire RNLI after the pair became separated from their boat.

The incident occurred shortly before 3 pm when the divemaster on the surface reported the overdue divers to the Irish Coast Guard.

Dun Laoghaire RNLI All-Weather lifeboat was requested to launch immediately along with the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 helicopter based at Dublin Airport. The Dublin Port Pilot boat also responded to the ‘Pan-Pan’ alert and joined in the search close to Dalkey Island. The Dun Laoghaire RNLI Inshore lifeboat was also preparing to launch.

The RNLI All-Weather lifeboat located the casualties south-east of the Muglins Rock fifteen minutes after launching. The two divers had drifted approximately three-quarters of a nautical mile from their dive site. Conditions on scene included a difficult swell left-over from the tide flowing against a fresh northerly wind.

Both casualties were taken on board the lifeboat and taken back to Dun Laoghaire to a waiting HSE ambulance for precautionary checks. Both had been in the water for more than one hour when rescued.

‘This is the outcome that we always hope for and comes from co-operation and training between all the agencies involved,’ commented Stephen Wynne, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Dun Laoghaire RNLI. ‘The casualties remained calm, followed procedure and linked together to ensure they could be spotted.’

Page 3 of 48

Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020