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Hildegarde Naughton TD, Minister with special responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard has today joined volunteers in Ardmore to mark the reopening of the Coast Guard station. The Ardmore Coast Guard Unit has a long history in the provision of search and rescue and can trace its origins back to the 1890s.

The Ardmore unit today a drone capability as well as the search function and works closely with its flank stations – Bonmahon and Youghal. This is important due to the varying coastline in the area which includes beaches, rock shores and cliffs. Cliff rescue cover is also provided in the area with the Bonmahon unit equipped for cliff rescue. Their area of operations extends from Dungarvan to the east and extends west over towards Youghal. The team comprises 17 dedicated volunteers delivering the Coast Guard service in their community.

The Minister’s visit marks the reopening of the Coast Guard building at Ardmore following extensive refurbishment work. The refurbishment work was completed by the Office of Public Works on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard and included window replacement, painting, flooring and external improvements to the yard. Work was also carried out on the original ‘rocket’ house for use in storage and training.

Minister Naughton’s visits coincide with the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Irish Coast Guard this year. The Irish Coast Guard, which can trace its roots to 1822 includes 44 Coast Guard units across Ireland provide a national maritime search and rescue service and a maritime casualty and pollution response service. Volunteers and full-time staff respond to almost 3,000 call outs and save on average 400 lives a year.

Speaking from Ardmore, Minister Naughton said

“The Irish Coast Guard is one of the State’s Principal Emergency Services and their work is both challenging and varied. I would like to acknowledge the commitment of staff and volunteers here in Ardmore, across the county of Waterford, and nationwide, for providing this crucial service and particularly for maintaining service delivery throughout the Covid pandemic. I continue to hear stories of volunteers leaving their families at home in the dead of night, and even on Christmas Day, to assist those in difficulty; a fact that demonstrates the personal sacrifice that is made by our volunteers 365 days of the year. Without our volunteers we simply would not have this lifesaving service. I would also like to thank their families and the wider community without whose support this service could not be provided.”