Ireland’ s first Surf Rescuers
LOCALS SPEARHEADED CAMPAIGN TO GET FIRST SURF RESCUE GROUP ESTABLISHED AT STRANDHILL BEACH
IRELAND’S first Surf Rescue has been set up in Strandhill through the initiative of two locals surfers Paul Buchanan and Roy Kilfeather.
Strandhill is one of the top surfing beaches in the country and attracts numerous locals and tourists alike.
Concerned locals had got in touch with Sligo County Council and over the course of the next few months, along with Irish Water Safety and the Irish Surfing Association, the Strandhill Surf Rescue was born.
Roy Kilfeather, secretary of the Irish Surfing Association is also part of the Strandhill Surf Rescue. He said the group of 12 people is made up of volunteers, including surf instructors, who act as both surf and also land based rescuers.
Prior to the Strandhill Surf Rescue, it was local surfers themselves who were coming to the assistance of fellow surfers in difficulty out in the water.
Now, the group will be helping in rescues with land- based volunteers also on the shoreline to speed up rescue times.
“We had our official launch back in early May and we have our storage box located at the promenade. It includes two boards, first aid flags, comms and a defibrillator too, which is vital in case anyone has an incident on the promenade.”
The new Surf Rescue is aimed at surfers. “It all started when Paul Buchanan, who runs a surf school here, contacted Pete Murtagh of Sligo County Council after seeing an article in the Sligo Champion.
“He asked Pete, who is the Council’s Water Safety Development Officer, what could be done as Strandhill needed something urgently.
“I then came on board and along with Cllr Sinead Maguire meetings were set up to see what we could establish,” he added.
This is the country’s first surf rescue, in comparison to Northern Ireland and the UK, the RNLI take responsibility there.
In Ireland, it falls under the Irish Water Safety, which means before this initiative in Strandhill, there was nobody responsible for surf rescue.
The groups is certainly breaking new ground Roy added, complimenting everyone who helped out with establishing the vital service.
“We got so much co- operation from the various bodies to get approval from the Irish Water Safety.
“Funding has come from Sligo County Council and the RNLI UK supplied us with the free storage box.
“There are plans to secure more funding over the next while to purchase more equipment and training for volunteers as is seen fit.
The links between Strandhill and nearby Rosses Point go back many years and the group is also working with Willie Murphy and the RNLI there as well as Pauric Slattery, chief pilot with the rescue helicopter R118 in Strandhill.
“We have agreed to do a joint RNLI and Irish Coast Guard exercise in Strandhill in August and we’ll be releasing more details on that ahead of the time,” he added.
Many years ago, Patsy Byrne and Charlie Elliot were involved in the late sixties in setting up the Strandhill Development Association and a lifeboat purchased in 1988 was officially launched by Taoiseach Charlie Haughey and Finance Minister Ray MacSharry.
The boat was humorously dubbed Charlie’s Angel following a ‘ late night Cabinet meeting’ in Strandhill.
Charlie’s Angel ceased operating when the RNLI first opened in Rosses Point in the nineties. Roy commended the people of both Strandhill and Rosses Point involved in rescues. “Sean Foy, Eamon Joyce, Patsy Byrne, Charlie Elliot and Paddy Mannion were all locals from Strandhill involved.
“Over the years the people of Rosses Point gave great assistance, including Harry Ewing, Austin Gillen, Kevin Murray and Paddy O’ Donnell.
“There was huge interaction between both villages.” Roy explained that in a way the new Strandhill Surf Rescue has taken over from the rescue boat service dating back to the sixties, seventies and eighties, set up by the aforementioned.
“We don’t have a craft but the same principles still exist. I suppose you could say that the RNLI and ourselves have gone the full circle.”
He was huge in praising Sligo County Council, the RNLI, Irish Water Safety, and Irish Surfing Association in making the surf rescue become a reality.
THERE WAS A HUGE COMMUNITY EFFORT IN MAKING THE STRANDHILL SURF RESCUE A REALITY