Irish Examiner View: The sea is a dangerous playground

Rescue mission hailed

Members of the Coast Guard during the search. Picture: Ray Ryan

This late summer weekend we can all celebrate the fact that, after being swept to sea and spending a long, cold night moored to a lobster fisherman’s buoy, paddle boarders Ellen Glynn (17) and her cousin Sara Feeney (23) were rescued after they were found by father-and-son team, local boatmen Patrick Oliver and his son Morgan (18) near Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands. It could all have easily ended so very differently, so very tragically.

The women left Furbo beach in Co Galway on Wednesday evening, just before darkness fell. Unanticipated wind, a surging tide, and a growing sea swell made it impossible for the women to follow their planned route. A very long night of waiting and unimaginable worry began for them and their families.