Last week’s cliff rescue has been published in the the local ‘Northside People’ paper…
HOWTH Coast Guard has issued a warning for people to be extra vigilant when walking near or along seaside cliff tops during winter months. The warning comes after the Coast Guard was called to a dramatic rescue last Thursday (November 2) in which a man was plucked to safety on cliffs near the Baily Lighthouse in Howth.
A spokesman for Howth Coast Guard told Northside People they would strongly urge people to stick to established paths along the cliffs and to be extra vigilant during wet weather.
According to statistics, Howth Coast Guard is the busiest sea rescue team in Ireland, dealing with a huge number of rescue calls throughout the year.
In this latest incident, the Coast Guard was tasked at 3.16pm on Thursday to a 999 report of a man stuck on the cliffs near the lighthouse. The Coast Guard teams made their way to the area not knowing exactly where the casualty was located.Two volunteers made their way down to Whitewater brook to locate the casualty. On searching further, they located him on the very north side of the beach in a small inlet, which could not be seen from the top. He was about 10-metres up the cliff and was not reachable from below. A full-scale cliff top rescue then swung into action. A rescue climber was first put down to secure the casualty and then both were to be hauled to the top. The rescue climber located and safely secured the casualty. However, due to the location and the fact he had to transverse the cliff, he was not satisfied that he was in a position to be hauled. A second rescue climber was then dropped down to the casualty from directly above and he took over the rescue. Both the second rescue climber and the casualty were then hauled to safety by the cliff top team. The first rescue climber was subsequently lowered to the bottom and returned by foot.
The casualty was not injured and no further medical help was required. According to the Howth Coast Guard spokesman, the casualty and a friend had been walking the beach at Whitewater brook and decided to try to ascend the cliff. Unfortunately one of them got into a very precarious position 10 metres up the cliff and was unable to extricate himself. The casualty’s friend, who had managed to ascend by a different route, raised the alarm.
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