Mayo councillor praised for his part in boat rescue

A MAYO councillor was praised for his quick thinking and his role in rescuing up to 20 people from Lough Lannagh after their boat capsized.

Castlebar-based Fianna Fáil councillor Blackie Gavin was praised by his fellow councillors after he entered the water in Lough Lannagh to swim to help people after their boat overturned.

The incident occurred last Saturday when members of the Grainne Mhaol Mayo Dragon Boat Club were on Lough Lannagh and one of their boats overturned leaving up to 20 people in the water.

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Cllr Gavin was along the shore with members of the Castlebar Community Clean-Up when the boat overturned and jumped into the water to assist them.

Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne told the monthly meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District that he wished to acknowledge the role that Cllr Gavin played in the rescue and his fast reactions.

“There would be other fellas standing on the shore looking around and saying what will we do. But by that time Blackie has reached the people and we want to say fair play to you and acknowledge how grateful we are,” Cllr Kilcoyne told the meeting.

All the people who were in the boat were brought to shore with the help of other people who were at the scene before the emergency services arrived. While there were no injuries some had to be brought to hospital for a health check-up.

Cathoairleach of the Municipal District, Cllr Donna Sheridan said that Cllr Gavin did an amazing job and everyone was so lucky that he was there on the day.

Cllr Gavin thanked his fellow councillors for their kind words and also acknowledged the role of other members of the Castlebar Community Clean-Up who were calm and helped in the rescue. He added that two life buoys along the shore were used and that a lot of people thought the people in the boat had entered the water as part of an exercise.

Cllr Gavin also noted the emergency services had to park in the Lough Lannagh car-park which was a distance from the scene and suggested creating an emergency entrance at the back of Lough Lannagh Holiday Village.

Castlebar councillor Blackie Gavin

“We need to look at access to the lake even down through the holiday village where there is a natural road right down to the lake. That needs serious consideration because the car park is too far away from the floating pontoon where the boats are launched. The amount of people using the lake for canoeing and the dragon boats is rising and it is only when a serious incident like this happens that we need to have a serious look at the whole thing,” he commented.

Fellow councillor Harry Barrett agreed that the council needs to plan for a critical incident on the lake and Cllr Kilcoyne asked for a report on the possibility of an emergency access point.