#dublinbay – A regular swimmer at the popular bathing place in Sandycove, Co. Dublin was hospitalised after being rescued from the sea this morning.

The man had been swimming from the 40-foot shortly after 9am when he encountered difficulties in the choppy seas between the bathing place and Sandycove Harbour.

The Dun Laoghaire RNLI inshore lifeboat was paged by the Irish Coast Guard's Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Dublin at 9.37am and the three volunteer crew launched shortly afterwards.

A second swimmer had reached the casualty with a ringbuoy and was bringing the man towards the rocks when the inshore lifeboat arrived on scene. The man was carried ashore and treated for hypothermia and minor injuries by the lifeboat crew.

The second swimmer was checked by the Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit and was unhurt.

A HSE ambulance was despatched to the scene and a decision was made to MEDEVAC the casualty to the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 116 helicopter due to his deteriorating condition.

#RNLI - Dunmore East RNLI launched yesterday (Saturday 11 October) to assist four people on a 6m rigid inflatable boat, or RIB, that got into difficulty off the Waterford coast.

The RIB, which was lost and suffering engine failure, was located two miles south of Hook Head Lighthouse.

The volunteer crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 10.25am at the request of the Irish Coast Guard. The people in the RIB raised the alarm by mobile phone and were unsure of their location.

Fifteen minutes after launch, the Trent Class lifeboat Elizabeth and Ronald located the vessel. All four people on board, who were wearing buoyancy aids, were transferred onto the lifeboat.

The casualty vessel was then towed into the safety of Dunmore East Harbour at 11.55am.

Speaking following the callout, Dunmore East RNLI coxswain Michael Griffin said: "Luckily the conditions today were very good. I would like to remind people to plan their trip carefully and to be sure to carry all the proper safety equipment needed."

#rnli – The RNLI are inviting the public to a meetingabout plans for a permanent Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station in Dromineer . The public will meet the architects/engineers at a consultation on the Station plans for Lough Derg. The meeting will take place at Lough Derg Yacht Club, Wed. October 15 from 7-9pm.

The Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station, began operations from the premises of Lough Derg Yacht Club at Dromineer, halfway down the east shore of the lake in County Tipperary. Now that plans for our new permanent Station in the village are well underway, it is important the the public become engaged with the consultation process for the new permanet station location in their locality.

On May 25, 2014, the Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station celebrated its tenth birthday. In those ten years, the lifeboat has launched 240 times, 60 of those at night. Volunteer crews have rescued 340 people and saved the lives of three people.

Following a rescue August 13 of this year, the Skipper of the vessel wrote this letter to our Lifeboat Operations Manager, Mr. Liam Maloney (quote used with kind permission).

The lifeboat reached us within 20 minutes of my call and towed us to the safety of Shannon Sailing Dromineer. [...]
It would be hard to do justice to the spped and manner in which all those people concerned responded to my emmergency call, including the operator who answered my radio call.

For many years the RNLI and the lifesaving work of its volunteers, have enjoyed the strong support of the people of Nenagh through the tireless efforts of campaigners in the RNLI's expanding fund raising committee, chaired locally by Niamh McCutcheon. The RNLI is a charity that saves lives, it does not receive Governent grants and relies entirely on the contributions and legacies from the public to continue its vital operations.

Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station is one of forty four RNLI Stations operating in Ireland. A local application to station an RNLI lifeboat on Lough Derg, led by Charles Stanley Smith and Teddy Knight, became reality, when, on 25 May 2004, the Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat officially began service. In the preceding year and a half, volunteer crews and members for the Operations Committee were recruited and underwent intensive training on the water and in the classroom, with RNLI Divisional Trainer Assessor Helena Duggan - our Trainer Assessor to this day.

Lough Derg is one of three RNLI inland Stations in Ireland, the other two are located at Lough Erne Yacht Club, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and our sister Station on the river Shannon, at Lough Ree.

Lough Derg is the lowest, and at twenty-seven miles long, the largest of the series of lakes on the river Shannon, the longest river in the Republic of Ireland. The shores of Lough Derg are bordered by three counties with the most outstanding countryside. It has secluded lagoons that can be accessed by narrow rivulets and many public and private harbours.

It is a beautiful, serene and charming freshwater lake. However, it can be provoked by high winds that funnel between the hills that border its southern narrower stretches of water. With little warning Lough Derg suddenly becomes an unforgiving sweep of water. At Parker's Point, where two stretches of the lake meet from the west and from the south, the water depth decreases sharply from one hundred and twenty feet to less than twenty feet. In a south westerly these factors combine to produce extremely confusing seas, with waves that come from the two directions at once to produce treacherous steep 'pyramid' waves. It is at this point on the lake that vessels frequently get into difficulties.

In the past Lough Derg was a major conduit for the passage of people and trade goods along the river Shannon. Nowadays the lake is used for pleasure by fishing and sailing boats, cruisers and barges. By necessity the rescue services must be present and ready to deal with increasing traffic and any possible difficulties that might ensue. Lough Derg is ready to do that, with volunteers on call twenty fours hours a day, every day of the year

#RNLI - Two people were rescued by Wexford RNLI in the early hours of Friday morning (3 October) after one was seen entering the water in the county town's harbour and another, a trained lifeguard, entered to assist.

1. The volunteer crew was alerted at 1.29am and the lifeboat launched within six minutes of the pagers going off.

Both men were rescued alongside Wexford Quay and brought back to Wexford lifeboat station, where a HSE ambulance was waiting.

Speaking after the incident, a spokesperson for Wexford RNLI said: "The quick response by the lifeguard, Gardaí and lifeboat saved lives last night.

"If anyone see someone in distress in the water they should ring the coastguard on 112 or 999 which will ensure the fastest response by the Wexford lifeboat."

#RNLI - At 5.25pm yesterday evening (Tuesday 30 September) the Bangor RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew received a request from Belfast Coastguard to assist two people onboard a 28ft trimaran-type yacht.

The multihull vessel, consisting of a main hull and two out-rigging hulls, had experienced engine failure two nautical miles north of Black Head on northern shores of Belfast Lough.

Within minutes of the rescue pagers being activated, the volunteer crew had launched the lifeboat, which proceeded at full speed towards the stricken vessel.

Upon arrival, the crew found that the two people on board the yacht were experienced yachtsmen. They had followed procedure and made the correct decision to call for assistance at the first sign of trouble.

With weather conditions on scene deteriorating, and a moderate to rough sea state, one of the lifeboat crew was transferred to the yacht to assist in rigging a tow line.

The vessel was then taken under tow and after two-and-a-half hours arrived safely at Bangor Marina.

RNLI volunteer helmsman Connor Lawson used this rescue to highlight a RNLI safety message when he said: "We always urge everyone going afloat to make sure their engine and fuel systems and are well maintained and in good working order.

"Engine failure close to shore and commercial shipping routes could lead to a life threatening situation."

He added: "We're happy that everyone is now safely ashore."

#RNLI - The volunteer crew of the Bundoran RNLI lifeboat were called out twice over the weekend to two different incidents, both of which ended well.

On Saturday afternoon (27 September) just after 1.40pm, the crew received a report that a boat’s propeller had become entangled in the rope of an old lobster pot just off Mountcharles.

Making their way across the bay to the scene, the volunteer crew found that the boat had indeed become entangled and was unable to move.

The experienced skipper had dropped anchor to ensure that the craft was stabilised, which eased the work of the RNLI crewman who went under the boat in order to cut the rope from the propeller.

Within minutes, the thankful skipper was underway and the lifeboat returned the station in Bundoran.



Just after 6pm on Sunday evening (28 September) the pagers sounded again as Malin Head Coast Guard had been alerted to a surfer who was in difficulty in the water at Rossnowlagh.

Within six minutes the lifeboat was in the water and speeding towards the scene with shore crew also tasked to the scene. The Irish Coast Guard's Sligo-based helicopter Rescue 118 was also tasked. 

However, as the lifeboat passed Kildoney Point the crew were informed that the surfer was ashore and they were stood down.



The deputy launching authority at Bundoran RNLI commented later: "Thankfully these callouts ended well. We would as usual always remind members of the public that if they see anyone in difficulty on the coast to dial 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard."

#RNLI - Following an alert by pager on Sunday 21 September, Arklow RNLI’s lifeboat Ger Tigchlear was launched within minutes to the aid of a powerboat with three persons aboard that was reported to be taking on water.

In calm conditions, the volunteer crew proceeded to scene, and after locating the vessel some two miles south-east of Arklow, a towline was quickly established to get the vessel back to port as quickly as possible.

Upon arrival at Arklow Harbour, where all hands were brought ashore safely, it was decided that due to the level of water that had entered the vessel, the salvage pump needed to be put aboard to enable refloating.

Once the water was cleared, repairs were made and the vessel was refloated and returned to her berth at Arklow Marina.

Speaking following the incident, coxswain Aidan Downey said: “This was a close call. If there had been any delay in alerting the lifeboat, this vessel would have been lost.

"Thankfully we were able to get to the casualty in the nick of time.”

#rnli – Dunmore East RNLI lifeboat in County Waterford rescued a cow on Saturday after she fell off a cliff and became stranded.
The volunteer crew launched their all-weather lifeboat just before 4pm at the request of the Irish Coast Guard following a report that a small boat with three people on board was in difficulty.

The vessel was reported to be in close proximity to rocks just under Creadan Head in the Waterford Estuary approximately two miles north east of Dunmore East.

The Trent Class lifeboat Elizabeth and Ronald arrived on scene five minutes after launching. The lifeboat crew noted that the small boat was not in actual difficulty but was trying to rescue a cow which had fallen over a cliff and was stranded at the bottom.
The RNLI crew assisted the three people by setting up a rope system for them and together with the assistance of Dunmore East Coast Guard the cow was brought ashore safely.

Speaking following the call out Dunmore East RNLI Deputy Coxswain Ray Power said: 'As a lifeboat crew we never know what we might be facing each time we are called, but in this case thankfully the actual call was not as serious as we first thought, but we were glad we could help all the same and bring the cow to safety.'

#RNLI - Rosslare Harbour RNLI towed to safety an 8-metre motor cruiser that was stranded off the Wexford coast with three on board on Thursday evening (18 September).

The volunteer crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 9pm to go to the assistance of the cruiser, which developed fuel problems some 16 miles north east of Rosslare Harbour.

The three crew on board the cruiser contacted the Irish Coast Guard for assistance. They were in no immediate danger.

Sea conditions were described by the lifeboat coxswain as rough, with a north-easterly wind blowing Force 4-5.

Speaking after the callout, Rosslare Harbour RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer Jamie Ryan said: "The lifeboat coxswain and crew showed professionalism in establishing a tow in what were described as challenging conditions."

#RNLI - Crosshaven RNLI assisted two fishermen yesterday morning (Wednesday 17 September) after their trawler got into difficulty off the Cork coast.

The Cork Harbour volunteer crew was alerted at 11.48am to a report of a fishing vessel with two people on board that was disabled with a line on its propeller.

Launching their inshore lifeboat immediately, the volunteers quickly approached the scene where conditions were blowing an easterly Force 5 wind with a two-metre swell.

The trawler was quickly located near Fish Point and a tow established by the lifeboat crew before the vessel was taken safely to Crosshaven.