Coast Guard gets new helicopter and rescue station

The young son of a Coast Guard volunteer tragically killed last March became the first civilian to board the new €35m search and rescue helicopter launched in Goleen on Saturday.

Tomas Hodnett lost his father Kevin, 29, in a tragic construction accident, just weeks after he had taken part in a massive search for five lost crewmembers of the Tit Bonhomme, which sank on Jan 15 off the Cork coast.

The new custom-fitted Sikorsky S92A helicopter staged a flyover of the Mizen peninsula following the official opening of a new Coast Guard station at Goleen, West Cork.