Lough Ree RNLI crew called out four times on Saturday

The good weather brought large crowds on to the waters of Lough Ree and the River Shannon over the past weekend - and also resulted in a spike in call-outs for the Lough Ree RNLI rescue crew.

On Saturday the local charity's voluntary crew spent six hours on the water attending four separate call-outs.

At lunchtime on Saturday the lifeboat station received a call from a member of the public regarding a vessel off the usual navigation lane west of Inchmcdermott Island.

Under helm Billy Henshaw Jr, on his first call out in this role, and with a crew of his sister Ruth Costello, Tom Bradbury, and Kevin Devlin, the lifeboat launched just before 2pm. On arrival at the scene, the lifeboat crew found the craft safely at anchor, with up to date navigational charts, and not in any distress.

En route back to the lifeboat station the crew were alerted to a sailing yacht which had suffered engine failure south east of Inchenagh Island. The craft was taken under tow to safety, and continued under sail from Quaker Island.

Minutes later, at 3.15pm, the RNLI crew received a distress call to a small vessel reported to have a fire on board south of Coosan Point.

The lifeboat crew reached the 27ft vessel as it tied up at Quigley’s Marina and the engine fire had been extinguished. Having checked that all people on board were accounted for and well, the lifeboat returned to station and was prepared for service.

Later on Saturday afternoon, at 5.38pm, the Coast Guard requested Lough Ree RNLI to go to the assistance of a small boat with three people on board which had run out of fuel south of Inchmore Island.

En route to the scene the charity’s lifeboat ‘Tara Scougall’, under helm Tom Bradbury and crew of Liam Sheringham, Kevin Devlin and Patrick Walsh, was stood down. At 7.10pm the same crew was recalled to this scene and took the stricken vessel under tow to Ballykeeran Lough.

Lough Ree RNLI Launch Authority Kieran Curley co-ordinated responses on Saturday and said: "As a charity Lough Ree RNLI is ready to respond to calls for assistance all of the time and encourages anyone in difficulty on the water to contact the Coast Guard by calling 999 or 112 at the earliest opportunity."

As a footnote to a busy Saturday, the Lough Ree RNLI volunteers had a relaxing and enjoyable evening later at the charity's summer BBQ.