This article is from page 6 of the 2014-01-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A LUCKY young surfer has a miracle escape on Thursday evening after getting into difficulty in the waters off Lahinch, just as the storm began to hit.
The Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard and the Irish Coast Guard Helicopter were tasked to investigate a report of someone in the water just after 5pm on Thursday evening. A search of the bay and shoreline revealed nothing and no surfers was reported missing as the storm began to touch ground after 6pm.
However, minutes after the search was stood down, a surfer was washed ashore on the promenade. The surfer was treated at the scene by coast guard and transported to hospital where he was treated for hypothermia.
“The sea washed him on the promenade and he was able to climb up the last bit himself. It was a pure miracle. He was very very lucky, his stars were certainly out that night,” said Matty Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard.
“He had a few bumps and bruises but, considering what he come through, he was very very lucky.”
The Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard responded to a large number of emergencies over the storm weekend. They assisted local fire services on Friday morning to help evacuate people from Lahinch. They also help the Irish Coast Guard with a number of evacuations in the Quilty area on Friday afternoon.
According to Matty, it is very rare to get two such powerful storms one after another.
“In 1991 we had a similar storm to this and before that there was something similar back in ‘63. I suppose every 20 or 30 years we get a storm like this, but not two of them in a row like we’ve just had,” he said.