Bogged down by dirty weekend events

MUD, mud glorious mud, there’s nothing quite like it for cooling the blood, but two people who got bogged down in separate incidents at the weekend might disagree.

A helicopter, fire brigades and ambulances were called out over the weekend to rescue a man and a young woman who found themselves almost up to their oxters in ooze in two separate incidents.

However, there was no need for emergency services in Portadown yesterday when over 650 dirty muckers took part in the Mud Madness race at Foymore Lodge.

Professional athletes, casual joggers and competitors from as far afield as Germany took part in the wacky four-mile run through fields, bogs and ponds to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

But a young woman in her 20s found her walk on Portmarnock Beach in Co Dublin came to a squelchy halt yesterday when she strayed onto mudflats.

“Local people would have known this was not a good area for walking, but this woman was not familiar with the area,” said Fergus Cooney of Howth Coast Guard.

“She was in no immediate danger as the tide was well out at the time,” he said.

Using her mobile phone, the woman called for help and despite having some difficulty explaining the exact position of her predicament, Howth Coast Guard managed to locate her using helicopter rescue, Dublin Fire Brigade and a team of volunteers.

“The helicopter soon discovered the casualty in the Baldoyle estuary behind the Portmarnock Golf Club,” explained Mr Cooney.

The woman was lifted to the safety of the nearby golf course and did not require medical assistance.

Meanwhile, a man immersed in mud in Limerick at the weekend was also lucky to have had a working mobile phone in order to raise the alarm.

Three units of the fire brigade from Limerick city, along with volunteers from Limerick Marine Search and Rescue unit were scrambled to the scene at Canal Bank, Rhebogue at around 6am on Saturday after a man reported getting stuck in mud.

Emergency services were contacted by the man, who claimed that he was trapped in mud in an old canal and was unable to free himself. He managed to raise the alarm with his own mobile phone.

It is thought the man, who is in his 20s, may have been stuck for around half an hour and called emergency crews when he realised he was trapped and would not be able to get out.

Gardaí and the fire service were first to reach the scene as search and rescue crews were requested to assist.

On arrival, two rescuers entered the canal and secured the trapped man with a chain before he could be brought safely to the bank.

The man was assessed at the scene by paramedics before being transported to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle where he underwent further treatment. He was released from hospital later in the day.

One rescuer said: “The man was up to his waist in the mud when we arrived.

“It was lucky his mobile phone was in working order because he was able to make the emergency call himself.

“He may have been there a while before he decided to call us but could have been there a lot longer. It was an unusual one alright. I don’t think anyone is really sure how he ended up in there in the first place.”

It is understood that the man was walking home towards Corbally following a night out in the city with friends.