Displaying items by tag: body
Body Found On Beach In Co Meath
#News - TheJournal.ie reports that the body of a man in his 40s was found on Mornington Beach in Co Meath this morning (10 September).
Gardaí are investigating the incident and the scene near Bettystown has been sealed off for forensic examination.
The grim discovery comes just hours after a body was recovered from the Avoca River, while a second person is still missing.
Body Recovered Off Dublin Thought to Be Missing Fisherman
#RESCUE - The Evening Herald reports that a body recovered 14km off the coast of north Dublin on Sunday is believed to be that of a missing fisherman.
The grisly find was made by the fishing vessel Rath Eilte in the waters off Skerries. A post-mortem was set to be carried out yesterday to determine the cause of death.
Found fully clothed in black and yellow oilskins, the remains are thought to be those of a Ukrainian in his 30s, a crewman on the Kilkeel-registered Zenith who was reported missing some 14.5km off Clogherhead in Co Louth on 29 January.
fishing vessel
Rath Eilte
Kilkeel
Clogherhead
Co Louth
Body Recovered as Search for West Cork Fishermen Continues
#RESCUE - Garda divers have this morning recovered a body in their search for the crew of the fishing vessel Tit Bonhomme off the coast of West Cork.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, five of the six-person crew went missing after the boat ran aground and went down rough seas near Adam's Rock, at the mouth of Glandore Harbour.
The five men include skipper Michael Hayes from Helvic Head in Co Waterford, Dubliner Kevin Kershaw (21) and Egyptians Said Mohammed (23), Wael Mohammed (35) and Attea Ahmed Shaban (26).
RTÉ News reports that the body recovered this morning has not been identified, but it is believed to be that of an Egyptian national.
Dive teams from the Garda and Naval Service have been set back by the trawler's position wedged in a narrow inlet with strong wash and backwash on either side, but were said to have made "significant progress" during dives yesterday.
A broader search is also being conducted inside and outside the harbour area and surrounding coastline, assisted by fishing boats, Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopters, and small boats and kayaks.
Glandore Harbour
naval service
Tit Bonhomme
Adam's Rock
Rescuers Searching for Student Find Body Off Achill Island
#NEWS UPDATE - The Irish Times reports that rescue teams searching for a Finnish student who fell off a cliff on Achill Island have found a body.
http://www.afloat.ie/resources/news-update/
http://afloat.ie/safety/rescue/
The 22-year-old student was thought to be visiting the area yesterday when he slipped and fell down the sheer cliff face at Cloughmore.
The Irish Coast Guard and Achill's RNLI lifeboat were swiftly at the scene after the alarm was raised by a friend of the student.
http://afloat.ie/resources/organisations/irish-coast-guard/
http://afloat.ie/resources/organisations/rnli-ireland/
http://afloat.ie/safety/lifeboats/
A spokesperson for Malin Head Coast Guard commented: "A body has been located but we haven't been able to recover it yet because the weather has been so rough."
The location of the body is in an area with a significant swell and close to jagged rocks. It is hoped that conditions would improve today to allow the rescue heliopter to recover it.
Cloughmore
Malin Head
Body on Newry Beach Could Be That of Missing Kayaker
Police in Northern Ireland are investigating whether a body washed up on a Co Down beach is that of a kayaker who went missing on Carlingford Lough more than two weeks ago.
http://www.afloat.ie/watersport/kayaking/
As previously reportd on Afloat.ie, area man Mark McGowan, 37, was last seen kayaking in the lough at 7.30pm on Monday 10 October.
http://www.afloat.ie/resources/news-update/item/17105-search-for-missing-kayaker-to-resume
His blue kayak was spotted by the Irish Coast Guard on 11 October at Killowen Point, on the north side of the lough.
A cross-border search and rescue operation was immediately launched but progress was hampered due to bad weather.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that a body was discovered on Cranfield Beach near Newry by a member of the public yesterday morning. Formal identification of the body has not yet taken place.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/probe-to-discover-if-body-on-newry-beach-is-missing-kayaker-16069403.html
At the time of his disappearance, McGowan was described as 5'7" tall, medium build, with a clean shaven, tanned complexion and short bleached blonde hair. He was last seen wearing a red jacket, blue jeans and white trainers.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, area man Mark McGowan, 37, was last seen kayaking in the lough at 7.30pm on Monday 10 October.
Co Down
Carlingford Lough
Mark McGowan
Cranfield Beach
Body Found on Scottish Beach Believed to Be Missing NI Woman
The body of a woman found washed up on a beach in Scotland's Mull of Kintyre is believed to be that of Northern Irish woman Karen Coyles, who disappeared from her home in Ballycastle, Co Antrim on 11 September.
The Irish Times reports that a tourist found the body yesterday afternoon. It is believed to have been in the water for some time.
A postmortem will be carried out today on the body, the identity of which has yet to be confirmed.
A major search and rescue operation had been launched for Coyles, 47, whose car was found at McQuillan's GAA club where she is captain of the camogie team.
Karen Coyles
Cave Divers Body Recovered from Galway Cave
The body of award winning cave diver Artur Kozwolski has been recovered six days after he was reported missing in a Galway cave. His body was brought to the surface yesterday by a Brititsh specialist cave team who were hampered by siltation in the cave system. Lorna Siggins in the Irish Times has the story here.
Published in Diving
Artur Kozwolski
Body Found in Galway Bay
The body of a man was found yesterday on an uninhabited island in Galway Bay, according to RTÉ News.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0214/body.html
The body was discovered on the shoreline of Rabbit Island, close to the entrance to Galway Harbour, by a coastguard helicopter during a search for a man seen falling into the River Corrib on Sunday night.
However the body is said to have been in the water for more than a week.
A post-mortem was set to be carried out at Galway University Hospital yesterday afternoon, while the air and sea search of the bay continues.
Rabbit Island
The Irish Coast Guard
The Irish Coast Guard is Ireland's fourth 'Blue Light' service (along with An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service). It provides a nationwide maritime emergency organisation as well as a variety of services to shipping and other government agencies.
The purpose of the Irish Coast Guard is to promote safety and security standards, and by doing so, prevent as far as possible, the loss of life at sea, and on inland waters, mountains and caves, and to provide effective emergency response services and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.
The Irish Coast Guard has responsibility for Ireland's system of marine communications, surveillance and emergency management in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and certain inland waterways.
It is responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue and counter-pollution and ship casualty operations. It also has responsibility for vessel traffic monitoring.
Operations in respect of maritime security, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration and fisheries enforcement are co-ordinated by other bodies within the Irish Government.
On average, each year, the Irish Coast Guard is expected to:
handle 3,000 marine emergencies
assist 4,500 people and save about 200 lives
task Coast Guard helicopters on missions
The Coast Guard has been around in some form in Ireland since 1908.
Coast Guard helicopters
The Irish Coast Guard has contracted five medium-lift Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters deployed at bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo.
The helicopters are designated wheels up from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours and 45 minutes at night. One aircraft is fitted and its crew trained for under slung cargo operations up to 3000kgs and is available on short notice based at Waterford.
These aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains of Ireland (32 counties).
They can also be used for assistance in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and aerial surveillance during daylight hours, lifting and passenger operations and other operations as authorised by the Coast Guard within appropriate regulations.
Irish Coastguard FAQs
What is The Irish Coast Guard?
The Irish Coast Guard provides nationwide maritime emergency response, while also promoting safety and security standards. It aims to prevent the loss of life at sea, on inland waters, on mountains and in caves; and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.
What is its main role of the Irish Coast Guard?
The main role of the Irish Coast Guard is to rescue people from danger at sea or on land, to organise immediate medical transport and to assist boats and ships within the country's jurisdiction. It has three marine rescue centres in Dublin, Malin Head, Co Donegal, and Valentia Island, Co Kerry. The Dublin National Maritime Operations centre provides marine search and rescue responses and coordinates the response to marine casualty incidents with the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Is the Irish Coast Guard service 24/7?
Yes, effectively, it is the fourth "blue light" service. The Marine Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) Valentia is the contact point for the coastal area between Ballycotton, Co Cork and Clifden, Co Galway. At the same time, the MRSC Malin Head covers the area between Clifden and Lough Foyle. Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) Dublin covers Carlingford Lough, Co Louth to Ballycotton, Co Cork. Each MRCC/MRSC also broadcasts maritime safety information on VHF and MF radio, including navigational and gale warnings, shipping forecasts, local inshore forecasts, strong wind warnings and small craft warnings.
How many emergencies does the Irish Coast respond to each year?
The Irish Coast Guard handles about 3,000 marine emergencies annually, and assists 4,500 people - saving an estimated 200 lives, according to the Department of Transport. In 2016, Irish Coast Guard helicopters completed 1,000 missions in a single year for the first time.
Does it also handle medical emergencies?
Yes, Irish Coast Guard helicopters evacuate medical patients from offshore islands to hospital on average about 100 times a year. In September 2017, the Department of Health announced that search and rescue pilots who work 24-hour duties would not be expected to perform any inter-hospital patient transfers. The Air Corps flies the Emergency Aeromedical Service, established in 2012 and using an AW139 twin-engine helicopter. Known by its call sign "Air Corps 112", it airlifted its 3,000th patient in autumn 2020.
Is the Irish Coast Guard an all-island body?
The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is responsible for the Northern Irish coast.
How much does the Irish Coast Guard cost?
The Irish Coast Guard is a State-funded service, with both paid management personnel and volunteers, and is under the auspices of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. It is allocated approximately 74 million euro annually in funding, some 85 per cent of which pays for a helicopter contract that costs 60 million euro annually. The overall funding figure is "variable", an Oireachtas committee was told in 2019. Other significant expenditure items include volunteer training exercises, equipment, maintenance, renewal, and information technology.
What resources does the Irish Coast Guard have?
The Irish Coast Guard has four search and rescue helicopter bases at Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo, run on a contract worth 50 million euro annually with an additional 10 million euro in costs by CHC Ireland. It provides five medium-lift Sikorsky S-92 helicopters and trained crew. The 44 Irish Coast Guard coastal units with 1,000 volunteers are classed as onshore search units, with 23 of the 44 units having rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and 17 units having cliff rescue capability. The Irish Coast Guard has 60 buildings in total around the coast, and units have search vehicles fitted with blue lights, all-terrain vehicles or quads, first aid equipment, generators and area lighting, search equipment, marine radios, pyrotechnics and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Community Rescue Boats Ireland also provide lifeboats and crews to assist in search and rescue. The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the Garda Siochána, National Ambulance Service, Naval Service and Air Corps, Civil Defence, while fishing vessels, ships and other craft at sea offer assistance in search operations.
How quickly can Irish Coast Guard assets respond?
The helicopters are designated as airborne from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours, and 45 minutes at night. The aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, on inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains and cover the 32 counties. They can also assist in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and can transport offshore firefighters and ambulance teams. The Irish Coast Guard volunteers units are expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time of departing from the station house in ten minutes from notification during daylight and 20 minutes at night. They are also expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time to the scene of the incident in less than 60 minutes from notification by day and 75 minutes at night, subject to geographical limitations.
How are Irish Coast Guard units managed?
Units are managed by an officer-in-charge (three stripes on the uniform) and a deputy officer in charge (two stripes). Each team is trained in search skills, first aid, setting up helicopter landing sites and a range of maritime skills, while certain units are also trained in cliff rescue.
Are Irish Coast Guard volunteers paid?
Volunteers receive an allowance for time spent on exercises and call-outs. What is the difference between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI? The RNLI is a registered charity which has been saving lives at sea since 1824, and runs a 24/7 volunteer lifeboat service around the British and Irish coasts. It is a declared asset of the British Maritime and Coast Guard Agency and the Irish Coast Guard. Community Rescue Boats Ireland is a community rescue network of volunteers under the auspices of Water Safety Ireland.
Does the Irish Coast Guard charge for rescue?
No, it does not charge for rescue and nor do the RNLI or Community Rescue Boats Ireland.
What communications systems do the Irish Coast Guard use?
The marine rescue centres maintain 19 VHF voice and DSC radio sites around the Irish coastline and a digital paging system. There are two VHF repeater test sites, four MF radio sites and two NAVTEX transmitter sites. Does Ireland have a national search and rescue plan? The first national search and rescue plan was published in July, 2019. It establishes the national framework for the overall development, deployment and improvement of search and rescue services within the Irish Search and Rescue Region and to meet domestic and international commitments. The purpose of the national search and rescue plan is to promote a planned and nationally coordinated search and rescue response to persons in distress at sea, in the air or on land.
Is the Irish Coast Guard responsible for pollution response?
Yes, the Irish Coast Guard is responsible for responding to spills of oil and other hazardous substances with the Irish pollution responsibility zone, along with providing an effective response to marine casualties and monitoring or intervening in marine salvage operations. It provides and maintains a 24-hour marine pollution notification at the three marine rescue centres. It coordinates exercises and tests of national and local pollution response plans.
What is the Irish Coast Guard's safety record?
The first Irish Coast Guard volunteer to die on duty was Caitriona Lucas, a highly trained member of the Doolin Coast Guard unit, while assisting in a search for a missing man by the Kilkee unit in September 2016. Six months later, four Irish Coast Guard helicopter crew – Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith -died when their Sikorsky S-92 struck Blackrock island off the Mayo coast on March 14, 2017. The Dublin-based Rescue 116 crew were providing "top cover" or communications for a medical emergency off the west coast and had been approaching Blacksod to refuel. Up until the five fatalities, the Irish Coast Guard recorded that more than a million "man hours" had been spent on more than 30,000 rescue missions since 1991.
What was the Government response to the Coast Guard fatalities?
Several investigations were initiated into each incident. The Marine Casualty Investigation Board was critical of the Irish Coast Guard in its final report into the death of Caitriona Lucas, while a separate Health and Safety Authority investigation has been completed, but not published. The Air Accident Investigation Unit final report into the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has not yet been published.
When was The Irish Coast Guard formed?
The Irish Coast Guard in its present form dates back to 1991, when the Irish Marine Emergency Service was formed after a campaign initiated by Dr Joan McGinley to improve air/sea rescue services on the west Irish coast. Before Irish independence, the British Admiralty was responsible for a Coast Guard (formerly the Water Guard or Preventative Boat Service) dating back to 1809. The West Coast Search and Rescue Action Committee was initiated with a public meeting in Killybegs, Co Donegal, in 1988 and the group was so effective that a Government report was commissioned, which recommended setting up a new division of the Department of the Marine to run the Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC), then based at Shannon, along with the existing coast radio service, and coast and cliff rescue. A medium-range helicopter base was established at Shannon within two years. Initially, the base was served by the Air Corps.
Who was The Irish Coast Guard's first director?
The first director of what was then IMES was Capt Liam Kirwan, who had spent 20 years at sea and latterly worked with the Marine Survey Office. Capt Kirwan transformed a poorly funded voluntary coast and cliff rescue service into a trained network of cliff and sea rescue units – largely voluntary, but with paid management. The MRCC was relocated from Shannon to an IMES headquarters at the then Department of the Marine (now Department of Transport) in Leeson Lane, Dublin. The coast radio stations at Valentia, Co Kerry, and Malin Head, Co Donegal, became marine rescue-sub-centres.
Who is The Irish Coast Guard's current director?
The current director is Chris Reynolds, who has been in place since August 2007 and was formerly with the Naval Service. He has been seconded to the head of mission with the EUCAP Somalia - which has a mandate to enhance Somalia's maritime civilian law enforcement capacity – since January 2019.
Where are Coast Guard Units located in Ireland?
Achill, Co. Mayo
Ardmore, Co. Waterford
Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
Ballycotton, Co. Cork
Ballyglass, Co. Mayo
Bonmahon, Co. Waterford
Bunbeg, Co. Donegal
Carnsore, Co. Wexford
Castlefreake, Co. Cork
Castletownbere, Co. Cork
Cleggan, Co. Galway
Clogherhead, Co. Louth
Costelloe Bay, Co. Galway
Courtown, Co. Wexford
Crosshaven, Co. Cork
Curracloe, Co. Wexford
Dingle, Co. Kerry
Doolin, Co. Clare
Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
Fethard, Co. Wexford
Glandore, Co. Cork
Glenderry, Co. Kerry
Goleen, Co. Cork
Greencastle, Co. Donegal
Greenore, Co. Louth
Greystones, Co. Wicklow
Guileen, Co. Cork
Howth, Co. Dublin
Kilkee, Co. Clare
Killala, Co. Mayo
Killybegs, Co. Donegal
Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford
Knightstown, Co. Kerry
Mulroy, Co. Donegal
North Aran, Co. Galway
Old Head Of Kinsale, Co. Cork
Oysterhaven, Co. Cork
Rosslare, Co. Wexford
Seven Heads, Co. Cork
Skerries, Co. Dublin Summercove, Co. Cork
Toe Head, Co. Cork
Tory Island, Co. Donegal
Tramore, Co. Waterford
Waterville, Co. Kerry
Westport, Co. Mayo
Youghal, Co. Cork
Sources: Department of Transport © Afloat 2020