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Displaying items by tag: temperature

#WEATHER - Those hardy Yuletide bathers at the Forty Foot in Dublin didn't need to be so brave this year, as Ireland experienced one of the warmest Christmas Days on record.

Just one year ago Ireland was in the grip of a deep freeze. But as the Irish Independent reports, temperatures on Sunday last rose to as much as 14.4 degrees in Co Cork.

It's been almost a decade since late December temperatures reached such levels, when Christmas in 2002 saw highs of 14.6 degrees according to Met Éireann records.

Sunny spells on the east coast brought out the polar bear plungers to Sandymount and the Grand Canal as well as the famous Forty Foot bathing spot in Sandycove.

The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.

Published in Forty Foot Swimming

Brothers Rory (37) and Eoin (36) O'Connor spent last night (Thursday 2 December 2010) in an igloo on Duncannon beach in county Wexford to raise funds for RNLI lifeboats. The pair went into the home-made igloo at 8pm last night and emerged this morning at 8am.

The igloo was built on Duncannon beach by local men Patrick Byrne and David Walsh following plummeting temperature and heavy snowfall in the southeast.  On hearing of the structure, Rory and Eoin approached the men to ask if they could spend a night in the igloo to raise funds for RNLI lifeboats.  With their agreement they made plans to spend the evening in the ice and brought with them special clothing and sleeping bags to brave the arctic temperatures.

Rory is a volunteer lifeboat helm on Fethard-on-Sea D class inshore lifeboat in county Wexford and when the temperatures dropped on the south-east coast he and his brother Eoin decided to do something to raise funds for the RNLI and to remind people that lifeboat crew go out in all types of weather.

Speaking from the igloo at the end of their night Fethard lifeboat helm Rory said "We are honestly delighted with the response from the public to our sleepover.  People were dropping by the igloo all night to say hello and drop some money in the bucket.  We even had a local pub send down some hot whiskeys to keep us warm.  It was actually quite comfortable and we even managed to get a good night's sleep."

The brothers emerged this morning in good spirits and were looking forward to a cooked Irish breakfast on the beach.

Rory and Eoin have set up a donations page HERE. The brothers have so far raised over €1,500 for the lifeboats.

igloo

A night in the cold has produced 1500 Euros so far!

 


Marine Warnings

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!