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Displaying items by tag: Donegal

#Kerrykeel - The body of a woman whose car went of a pier near Kerrykeel in Co Donegal yesterday has been recovered from the water, as Independent.ie reports.

A post-mortem was set to be carried out in Letterkenny General Hospital on the 36-year-old woman, who was last seen in Kerrykeel just minutes before the incident around 12.30pm.

It has since emerged that a local teenager attempted to rescue the woman from the car after it plunged off the pier, and was subsequently treated for shock.

Independent.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
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#IsleOfDoagh - A body has been found this afternoon (Thursday 1 September) in the search for a man missing from the Isle of Doagh since Monday evening.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the man was reported missing by his family after going swimming during a camping holiday on the Inishowen Peninsula.

But according to The Irish Times, a body was recovered at Five Fingers Strand across from Doagh in the search for 59-year-old Tony Griffiths.

Published in News Update

#Missing - The search continues today (Wednesday 31 August) for a man missing after going swimming off the Inishowen Peninsula in Co Donegal this past Monday.

According to The Irish Times, the man in his 50s was reported missing at midnight on Monday by his family, with whom he was on a camping holiday on the Isle of Doagh just south of Malin Head.

The search comes just days since the body of soldier Gavin Carey was recovered off the south Donegal coast near Bundoran after he got into difficulty while swimming a week ago.

Published in News Update
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#Donegal - A body recovered off the Donegal coast yesterday morning (Sunday 28 August) has been identified as missing soldier Gavin Carey, according to BreakingNews.ie.

Corporal Gavin Carey was reported missing after getting into difficulty while swimming with fellow soldiers at Tullan Strand last Tuesday 23 August, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Defence Forces chief of staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett expressed his sorrow over the tragedy, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny also offering his condolences to Corporal Carey's family in Mullingar and colleagues at Custume Barracks in Athlone.

BreakingNews.ie has much more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update
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#CoastalNotes - Donegal's history and relationship with the coastline are celebrated by a new coastal trail launched earlier this month.

As the Donegal Democrat reports, a special training programme has been developed for business owners and others along the new Atlantic Coastal Trail to "teach the people of this county to be proud of the story of Donegal", in the words of Údarás na Gaeltachta's Meadbh Seoige.

The Gaeltacht authority is one of a number of partners in the initiative to promote the county's "maritime leisure and seafood experiences" as highlighted by Donegal Cathaoirleach Terence Slowey.

"We’re working on where we fall short in visitor numbers," explained Donegal County Council chief executive Seamus Neely. "One statistic is that as little as 12% of tourists who visit the Wild Atlantic Way actually travel north of Galway city."

The Donegal Democrat has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

#Donegal - The coastline of Co Donegal is as much an attraction for adventure tourists as it is for those drawn to its rugged beauty, according to Outside magazine.

And some of those seeking thrills have even made the north-east county their home – such as Scottish-born climbing guide Iain Miller, who leads the magazine's Stephanie Pearson to breathtaking heights at once startlingly remote and surprisingly accessible.



But it's not just about climbers seeking the challenge of Donegal's sea stacks, nor the big swells that bring top surfers to the county in ever increasing numbers.

Sea kayakers, too, have coastal nooks and crannies to explore when the weather permits, while hikers have miles of the Irish portion of the International Appalachian Trail – which crosses one of Europe's highest sea cliffs in Slieve League.

Outside has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

#Rescue - A lobster fisherman was rescued after getting tangled in his vessel's ropes when it overturned off the Donegal coast on Saturday evening (9 April).

As TheJournal.ie reports, the rescue of the solo fisherman proved difficult for local coastguard and lifeboat teams due to the heavy swell at Inishinny, off Arranmore Island.

That's when the Sligo-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118 came in to free the man from his vessel and winch him to safety.

Rescue 118 was later called out to rescue a number of surfers in difficulty of the Leitrim coast, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Published in Coastguard

The volunteer crew of Bundoran RNLI were last night requested to launch by Malin Head Coast Guard to reports of a person in the water at the pier in Donegal Town.

Following a 999 call from some passers by, the lifeboat was paged just after 11.45pm and launched around 11:53pm, proceeding to Donegal Town. On arrival on scene at 12:15am the crew commenced a search of the pier area in coordination with the Sligo based Rescue 118 Helicopte, the Killybegs Coast Guard boat, Gardai, Fire Service and HSE Ambulance.

Shortly after 1am, a person was recovered from the water and handed over to the waiting ambulance crew on the pier but was sadly later pronounced dead.

The management and crew of Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat extend sympathies to familiy and friends of the deceased.

Published in RNLI Lifeboats
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#Buncrana - Five people, including three children, understood to be from the same family are dead after their car slipped into the water at Buncrana, Co Donegal last night (Sunday 20 March).

As the News Letter reports, a major emergency operation was launched after the Northern Ireland-registered estate car went off a pier into Lough Swilly after 7pm.

The bodies of two adults and three primary-aged children were recovered shortly after.

A baby who was also in the car is believed to have been thrown or handed out of the vehicle before it went into the water.

The cause of the tragedy is not yet known but it's understood that the surface of the pier slipway may have been slippery with algae.

The News Letter has more on the story HERE.

Sunset Buncrana Pier

Published in News Update

#Surfing - A Donegal surfing school has raised €20,000 for its expansion via peer-to-peer lending, as Donegal Now reports.

Fin McCool Surf School in Rossnowlagh aims to complete renovations of its new base in the town thanks to funds raised via Irish 'crowdlending' providers Linked Finance.

"Growing demand means it’s now time for us to invest further into our facilities and we’re delighted to be partnering with Linked Finance to refurbish our new premises," said owner Neil Britton, cousin of Irish women's surfing pioneer Easkey Britton.

Donegal Now has more on the story HERE.

Published in Surfing
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Page 5 of 14

Galway Port & Harbour

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city and port is located on the northeast side of the bay. The bay is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and from 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to 30 kilometres (19 miles) in breadth.

The Aran Islands are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay.

Galway Port FAQs

Galway was founded in the 13th century by the de Burgo family, and became an important seaport with sailing ships bearing wine imports and exports of fish, hides and wool.

Not as old as previously thought. Galway bay was once a series of lagoons, known as Loch Lurgan, plied by people in log canoes. Ancient tree stumps exposed by storms in 2010 have been dated back about 7,500 years.

It is about 660,000 tonnes as it is a tidal port.

Capt Brian Sheridan, who succeeded his late father, Capt Frank Sheridan

The dock gates open approximately two hours before high water and close at high water subject to ship movements on each tide.

The typical ship sizes are in the region of 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes

Turbines for about 14 wind projects have been imported in recent years, but the tonnage of these cargoes is light. A European industry report calculates that each turbine generates €10 million in locally generated revenue during construction and logistics/transport.

Yes, Iceland has selected Galway as European landing location for international telecommunications cables. Farice, a company wholly owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe.

It is "very much a live project", Harbourmaster Capt Sheridan says, and the Port of Galway board is "awaiting the outcome of a Bord Pleanála determination", he says.

90% of the scrap steel is exported to Spain with the balance being shipped to Portugal. Since the pandemic, scrap steel is shipped to the Liverpool where it is either transhipped to larger ships bound for China.

It might look like silage, but in fact, its bales domestic and municipal waste, exported to Denmark where the waste is incinerated, and the heat is used in district heating of homes and schools. It is called RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel and has been exported out of Galway since 2013.

The new ferry is arriving at Galway Bay onboard the cargo ship SVENJA. The vessel is currently on passage to Belem, Brazil before making her way across the Atlantic to Galway.

Two Volvo round world races have selected Galway for the prestigious yacht race route. Some 10,000 people welcomed the boats in during its first stopover in 2009, when a festival was marked by stunning weather. It was also selected for the race finish in 2012. The Volvo has changed its name and is now known as the "Ocean Race". Capt Sheridan says that once port expansion and the re-urbanisation of the docklands is complete, the port will welcome the "ocean race, Clipper race, Tall Ships race, Small Ships Regatta and maybe the America's Cup right into the city centre...".

The pandemic was the reason why Seafest did not go ahead in Cork in 2020. Galway will welcome Seafest back after it calls to Waterford and Limerick, thus having been to all the Port cities.

© Afloat 2020