There can be no equivocating about the importance of water safety, so the proposals by a Mayo doctor and Senator in legislation put before the Oireachtas to jail or severely financially penalise those who vandalise or steal public lifebuoys deserve support and that is likely to be given by all political parties. The details of the Bill before the Oireachtas are discussed in my Podcast this week where they are outlined by the Chief Executive of Irish Water Safety, John Leech, himself an active and enthusiastic sailor and Race Officer.
John has his offices on the Long Walk in Galway overlooking the beautiful River Corrib and sailing is getting a boost in the West of Ireland. Following the successful holding of WIORA on the Aran Islands where the fleet was based at Kilronan, the Islands’ Federation’s Secretary, Rhoda Twombly, has been telling me how sailing has been added to the schedule of the Maritime Festival on Inishbofin, which you can also hear on the Podcast.
And the trio of interviewees on the Podcast includes diver Pat Coughlan from Youghal in East Cork, on the banks of the River Blackwater He led the team which recovered the main telegraph from the wreck of the Lusitania. He outlines how this was done.
Listen to the PODCAST here.
• Tom MacSweeney presents THIS ISLAND NATION radio programme on local stations around Ireland
