This article is from page 4 of the 2008-08-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE 39-year-old woman who died in Lahinch last Tuesday after get- ting in to difficulty while attempting to save her son, was originally from east Clare.
Fiona Ring, who lived in Brutf County Limerick, was formerly Fiona McNamara from Broadford. She had gone for a swim on Tuesday evening with her businessman hus- band Diarmuid and their nine-year- OURO ser ae Xeh aN nEl(e.@
It is now believed that the child got in to difficulty while in the water and Mrs Ring shouted at her husband to take the boy ashore. Shortly before 9.30pm, as it had started to get dark, Mr Ring made his way to the beach with the youngster while Mrs Ring followed behind. However, when Mr Ring reached the beach he could see no sign of his wife behind him.
He ran to the prom where he grabbed a lifebelt before returning to the water to try and locate her. Soon afterwards he called 999 on his mobile phone and alerted gardai at Ennistymon who then notified the coastguard.
Within minutes, Lahinch Sea Res- cue had launched a boat while a request was made of a fishing boat which had been in the bay, to assist in the search. The boat made its way towards the shore and used its pow- erful lights to search for the miss- ing woman. Members of the Doolin Coastguard Unit were also scram- bled to the scene where they quickly launched two more boats. The Shan- non-based coastguard helicopter was also sent to assist in the operation.
Members of the Doolin coastguard team spotted the woman in the water at around 10.45pm and lifted her on to their boat where they immediately commenced CPR and _ continued
the procedure until the woman was handed over to the helicopter crew. Doolin Coastguard spokesman Mattie Shannon said, “The crew of the rig spotted the casualty in the water and took her on board. They then transferred the woman to an- other boat which is capable of beach- ing and they transported the victim
directly on to the beach where the helicopter was standing by.”
A medical team was on standby at University Hospital Galway when the helicopter landed at 11.13pm. However the young mother was pro- nounced dead less than twenty min- utes later at 11.30pm.
It is still not clear how she got in
to trouble but rescuers speculated that she may have been taken by sur- prise by the changing tide. It is also thought that Fiona’s surfboard got away from her and she was trying to retrieve it.
A post mortem examination was carried out in Galway on Wednesday while gardai have said a file will be prepared in due course for the county coroner who will hold an inquest in to the tragedy at a later date.
Fiona Ring was prayed for at Mass- es in Broadford on Thursday.
Lahinch is one of a number of Clare beaches which are protected by life- guards during the summer months from llam to 7pm daily. A new 25 foot high lifeguard tower 1s currently under construction and will comprise a look-out tower and first-aid room.
Clare Water Safety Officer Liam Griffin said, “As with all our guard- ed beaches, we have a flag system in place which lets people know when and where it is safe to swim. While Lahinch is a very safe beach, people must also know their own limitations and follow the safety guidelines.”
A year ago this week, a 19-year- old man from Clontarf in Dublin drowned in Lahinch after going swimming in the early hours of the morning. The young man had been staying in the north Clare town for the August bank holiday weekend and went swimming after a night so- cialising.
A fortnight ago, international rugby star Paul O’Connell helped a 22-year- old surfer to safety after her board hit rocks during a rising tide. He lifted the girl to safety after rough seas tossed her on to rocks as she tried to reach the shore.