Lough Ree RNLI 'will remain on call 24/7' over festive period
The Lough Ree RNLI lifeboat is reminding everyone to take due care on the water over the holiday period, and said the charity and its volunteer crew would remain on call 24/7 throughout Christmas and the New Year.
The potentially life-saving service has had another busy year, with 46 call-outs for its volunteer crew so far in 2021.
The charity came to the assistance of over 150 people who had experienced difficulty of some kind on the lake or on River Shannon this year.
To remain always ready, its volunteers have continued with weekly 'on the water' training on board the charity's, lifeboat, the Tara Scougall.
Coupled with this were a number of multi-agency training and familiarisation sessions with other life-saving partners on the water.
While the holiday period is traditionally busy one on the lake for both boats and swimmers Lough Ree RNLI press officer Tom McGuire said: "All who use the lake at this time need to be aware of the colder water temperatures and the higher water level which may obscure obstacles normally fully visible.
"In the event of anyone getting into difficulty, a call should be made to the emergency services on 112 or 999 at the earliest opportunity.
"As always Lough Ree RNLI remains on call at all times. For some new crew members, it will be a first Christmas on call."
On land, the new Lough Ree RNLI lifeboat station is nearing completion on the lake shore at Coosan Point, Athlone.
All of the crew had an opportunity to walk through the facility last week, and Lough Ree RNLI hope to move into the boathouse early in the the new year. A fundraising campaign has been ongoing throughout the year to raise a local community contribution of €100,000 towards the €1.2m project.
This has been very successful and the target is well within reach after many great contributions, both big and small throughout the year. In the 'season of giving' Lough Ree RNLI hopes to reach its target very soon.
The station has a local bank account where all donations, large or small, are welcome: ‘Loughree RNLI Boathouse Appeal – BIC: AIBKIE2D IBAN: IE80AIBK93226458090098’