St. Caimin’s Search and Rescue Club

St. Caimin's Search & Rescue
Lough Derg
Mountshannon
Co.Clare

24 Hour Vouluntary Service
Phone: 087 8140819

St. Caimin’s Search and Rescue Club is one of the oldest in the country and actually the oldest established on the Shannon. It evolved out of the Scarriff, Mountshannon and Whitegate Angling Club, which had an informal arrangement to get together when a rescue situation arose on Lough Derg or someone had drowned and a body had to be recovered.

The club now has a modern 6.5 meter Lencraft Semi Rigid R.I.B., which is an acronym for Rubber Inflatable Boat, equipped with a Yamaha 115 HP outboard motor. The boat is kept in a purpose-built boathouse on the shore near the swimmer’s dressing rooms and toilets. The boathouse was built mainly from materials and donations from local people and construction work was carried out voluntarily by local tradesmen and workers. The club is kept going financially by voluntary donations and by church gate collections. The most recent donation was from the Lough Derg branch of the Ireland Waterways Association when a handsome cheque was presented to the Secretary at a dinner in Garrykennedy before Christmas.

Since the club was established, another rescue club has been set up in Killaloe and the R.N.L.I. has set up a base in Dromineer on the premises of the Lough Derg Yacht Club. All rescue services on our local waters and at sea are now co-ordinated by the Irish Coast Guard Service. So, Lough Derg and the Shannon are now comparatively safe places to venture out onto in a boat.