#News - TheJournal.ie is reporting news of the tragic drowning of a man and a young child off West Cork in the early hours of this morning (6 March).

The bodies of the man and the three-year-old girl were recovered by emergency teams after the Goleen unit of the Irish Coast Guard was tasked to the area following a missing person's report.

Coastguard volunteers found the child on the beach but attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful. The body of the man was later discovered in the shallows by the Baltimore RNLI lifeboat.

It's being suspected that the man and the young child entered the water.

TheJournal.ie has more on the story HERE.

#COASTGUARD - The four-year-old son of a coastguard volunteer who died tragically in March was the first civilian to board the latest addition to the Irish Coast Guard's helicopter fleet in West Cork last weekend.

As the Irish Examiner reports, Tomas Hodnett's father Kevin died in a construction accident just weeks after he had taken part in a massive search for five lost crewmembers in the Tit Bonhomme trawler tragedy last January.

"We are delighted you are here with us today," said Goleen station officer Michael O’Regan. "You are part of the Coast Guard family."

The tribute was part of a special ceremony to mark the opening of the new coastguard station house in Goleen, which also witnessed a flyover of the Mizen Peninsula by the new €35m Sikorsky S92A - a state-of-the-art rescue helicopter equipped with revolutionary technological enhancements.

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar joined gardaí, members of the Naval Service and Civil Defence, RNLI lifeboat crews from Baltimore and Castletownbere, and coastguard crews from Cork and Kerry for the ceremony, which included an official blessing of the building - providing a long-awaited update of facilities for Goleen's 21-strong volunteer crew.

O'Regan and others were also presented with medals for their long-time service to the coastguard, as the Southern Star reports, with O'Regan receiving recognition for 40 years's service.

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.