The volunteer crew of Clifden RNLI had a busy Saturday with two operations taking place in quick succession resulting in the rescue of seven people.
The lifeboat crew were first tasked by the Coast Guard at 10am yesterday, Saturday 18th July, to reports of swimmers in difficulty near Mannin Bay.
Both of Clifden’s lifeboats were put to sea immediately with James Mullen as Coxswain on the all weather lifeboat, St Christopher and David O Reilly, Brian Ward, Darragh Wallace and Chris Nee as crew. Clifden’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat was helmed by Dave Barry with Shane Conneely, Ronan Mullen and Sean Pryce as crew.
Once at the scene, a short distance from Ballyconneely, the crew quickly located the swimmers. They were in good form and able to make their way back to shore unaided.
Not long after returning to base the pagers went again, this time a family on a small pleasure craft were in difficulty near Turbot island.
The volunteer crew assembled for the second time, John Mullen was Coxswain on the all weather lifeboat with David O Reilly, Alan Pryce, Caroline Barry and Darragh Wallace on board.
James Mullen was helm on Clifden’s Atlantic 85 with his son Ronan Mullen, Brian Ward and Shane Conneely as crew. Notably, it was the first shout for this father and son since Ronan joined Clifden RNLI as a 19 year old earlier this year.
The crew quickly made their way to the boat’s location, near the small island of Turbot in Clifden Bay. In all, seven people were in danger because their boat was drifting towards the rocky shoreline of the island.
When the lifeboat crew arrived on scene the wind had blown the casualty vessel off the rocks and the family were able to get their engine restarted. The crew checked for any sign of structural damage or water ingress.
The casualties included two parents and five children who were very relieved to have assistance from the RNLI. The casualty vessel was escorted back to their mooring in Clifden Bay.
Five children from the casualty vessel were transferred to Clifden’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat and brought ashore while the parents came ashore on their small tender escorted by the Clifden’s all weather lifeboat crew.
James Mullen, Clifden RNLI Coxswain said, “Thankfully we had very good outcomes yesterday and I’d like to thank our brilliant crew who worked really well together to bring that family of seven people to safety.”
“Clifden RNLI is ready to respond 24/7 to anyone who is in distress in or around the water. Please don’t delay in looking for help, you could save a life by calling 999/112 at the first sign of trouble. Please be safe and enjoy our beautiful Connemara coast.”
