Multi-Agency Response at Inchydoney After Casualty Caught in Strong Channel Current
- Pat Nolan
- 3 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Sunday 16 August 2026
Inchydoney Inshore Lifeboat was launched to reports of people in difficulty in the eastern channel at Inchydoney on Sunday morning, after a member of the public raised the alarm.
The volunteer lifeboat crew were requested to launch shortly after 9am following reports from guests at Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa that people were in difficulty in the water.
The Irish Coast Guard had already been alerted and tasked Coast Guard resources and Courtmacsherry RNLI to the incident. An Garda Síochána and the National Ambulance Service were also notified.
Two Inchydoney Lifeboat volunteers launched the inshore rescue boat at approximately 9.08am from the eastern beach slipway.
Conditions were calm, with a glassy sea, no wind and excellent visibility. However, the crew quickly identified an extremely strong current running through the eastern channel.
The lifeboat crew initially searched towards Ring Pier but found no one in the water.
A short time later, a member of the public who had witnessed the incident provided further information to the shore crew, reporting that two people had been seen further out towards Ring Head.
The information was immediately passed to the lifeboat crew and Coast Guard.
The Inchydoney crew extended their search beyond the headland, where the strength of the rip current was clearly visible from the lifeboat. No one was located in the water.
The crew then returned up the channel and searched the shingle beach and surrounding rocks.
They spotted a person waving towards them from a small pier.
The person informed the crew that the casualty was in their car, having been helped from the water along with their dog only minutes earlier.
The lifeboat crew went alongside the pier and located the casualty sitting in the car. They were shivering and pale but conscious and able to speak with the crew.
The casualty explained that they had entered the water after their dog became caught in the strong current. They had then been unable to swim clear of the current and were carried further out before managing to swim across the current towards the shingle beach on the Ring side of the channel.
A member of the public had assisted both the casualty and their dog from the water.
The casualty was wrapped in a blanket and remained with the lifeboat crew until an ambulance arrived and took them into the care of the National Ambulance Service.
By approximately 9.30am, the incident had been resolved and the Inchydoney IRB returned to the slipway, assisted by the shore crew.
Castlefreke Coast Guard and Courtmacsherry RNLI were stood down by the Coast Guard.
The Inchydoney lifeboat was then refuelled and made ready for its scheduled 10.30am to 7pm beachguard support duty with Cork County Council.
A debrief involving Inchydoney Lifeboat volunteers and members of Castlefreke Coast Guard later took place, with Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa providing breakfast for those involved.
Inchydoney Lifeboat has praised the members of the public who raised the alarm and particularly the person who assisted the casualty and their dog from the water.
The lifeboat association also acknowledged the swift response of the Coast Guard, Courtmacsherry RNLI, An Garda Síochána and the National Ambulance Service, as well as the Inchydoney lifeboat volunteers and shore crew involved in the launch, recovery and communications.
The casualty had entered the water after seeing their dog in difficulty and was subsequently caught in the powerful current.
Inchydoney Lifeboat is reminding the public never to enter the water to attempt a rescue unless they have received appropriate lifesaving training.
Strong currents can be extremely difficult to escape from and cold water can quickly lead to exhaustion, even for strong swimmers.
Where possible, members of the public should use a flotation aid, such as a ringbuoy, rather than entering the water themselves.
If you see someone in difficulty in the water or at the coast, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.
The Inchydoney Lifeboat Association wished the casualty, their family and their dog well following the incident and expressed its hope of welcoming them back to Inchydoney again in the future.
