This article is from page 6 of the 2008-09-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE dangers associated with swim- ming at unguarded beaches have been highlighted, in the wake of two dramatic rescues at Spanish Point over the past week.
Warnings have been issued this week after two young girls were res- cued from the waters last Thursday evening, while a 15-year-old boy was rescued after he got into difficulty while swimming, at the same spot on SLUeE NE
A passer-by grabbed a lifebelt and swam out to the boy who was strug- gling in the water. He was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. His condition was ini- tially described as serious, but later SPO) DBI oreR
Clare’s Water Safety Officer Liam Griffin said this week that people need to be mindful that the seas are OPT To ROLE
‘When people go to the beach they have to be conscious of where they are. Spanish Point is a surf beach and there are dangerous currents and it
can be difficult to get out of them,” he said.
“If you are not sure of where you are, the advice is not to enter the water. Spanish Point is a dangerous beach. You have to be careful,’ he EHR
He also said that particular notice
should be taken by beach goers, as the beaches are not frequented by lifeguards during the winter. Lifeguards were on duty throughout the summer, but their season came to an end at the end of August. The busier beaches of Lahinch, Spanish Point, Fanore and Kilkee had a life-
guard facility available during the first weekend of September, but the service has now come to a halt for the rest of the year.
“The availability of suitable life- guards is an issue. We apply the high- est standards here in Clare in relation to lifeguards. Nobody has drowned at a guarded beach in Clare in living memory. Lifeguards are for the most part students and are gone back to college in September. At the moment we are planning for the 2009 season. When you are planning, you assume the busy times will be July and Au- gust,” said Mr Griffin.
He said that lifesaving equipment was essential in Sunday’s rescue and appealed to people to respect these. “I would appeal to people to respect that equipment and not vandalise it. There has been vandalism in the En- nis area quite a bit. A ring buoy and rope was used to good effect on Sun- day. Had it not been available, God knows what would have happened,’ added Mr Griffin.