Community of Erris and Irish Coast Guard honoured

HONOURES  Broadcaster Bryan Dobson (second from right) presents (from left), John Gallagher, representing the Erris community; Chris Reynolds, Director, Irish Coast Guard, and Dr Keith Swanick, representing the Erris community, with a People of the Year Award.

The community of Erris and the Irish Coast Guard have been jointly honoured at the 43rd Rehab People of the Year Awards, with special recognition for the four crew who lost their lives in the Rescue 116 tragedy.
The award was presented by broadcaster Bryan Dobson in recognition of the heroic work of the men and women of the Irish Coast Guard in risking life to assist maritime and coastal communities. The people of Erris were recognised for their contribution to the search for the missing crew.
Volunteer member Caitríona Lucas, who lost her life off the Clare coast during a separate operation, was also honoured.
Early on the morning of March 14, 2017, Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 disappeared off the Erris coast. The aircraft had been providing communications support for an offshore medical assistance operation. On board were Capt Dara Fitzpatrick, Capt Mark Duffy and winch team Paul Ormsby and CiarΡn Smith.
The bodies of Dara Fitzpatrick and Mark Duffy were recovered in the subsequent searches. However, tragically and despite intensive efforts, the bodies of CiarΡn Smith and Paul Ormsby were never recovered.
Just six months previously, the Irish Coast Guard community had suffered another devastating loss with the passing of their colleague, volunteer member Caitríona Lucas, who had been participating in a search operation off the coast of Kilkee, Co Clare.
Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue Operations Manager, Gerard O’Flynn, said: “The selfless actions of those who put their lives on the line, for the safety of others, means Caitríona, Dara, CiarΡn, Mark and Paul will remain an inspiration to us all … Our colleagues will always be sadly missed and we remain deeply saddened by the depth of this tragedy.
“I would like to pay tribute to the community of Erris … Every possible assistance was provided, ranging from the fishing community providing local knowledge and advice, shoreline searching and, in particular, the huge catering operation that was put in place to provide valuable sustenance to all participants. It was indicative of the long-established bond between coastal communities and the Coast Guard services. We are humbled to receive this award, which honours the bravery of all of our colleagues and pray that their bereaved families will take courage from this recognition.”