As part of the Croi na hÉireann Festival taking place in Athlone from March 14-18 inclusive, a river safety demonstration will take place on Saturday at 1pm.
This demonstration, which has become very popular in recent years, showcases the town’s finest such as Athlone Subaqua Club, Athlone River Safety Awareness and the RNLI. Members of An Garda Siochana based in Athlone also attend and support with this demonstration.
The event aims to highlight the lifesaving equipment which all three organisations have at their disposal. Athlone Subaqua play a vital role in search and recovery operations on the River Shannon, the RNLI attend to persons and vessels in distress, while Athlone River Safety Awareness have access to easy to use water safety equipment on the steps of the river Shannon.
The event, which is open to all and free of charge, will be of 90 minutes duration and commence at 1pm.
“The event is a great opportunity for children to learn about the dangers associated with the River Shannon. It is also an opportunity to learn about the life saving equipment based in Athlone to prevent drowning and for search and recovery.
“We are extremely lucky to have three professional organisations based in our town who take very serious their responsibilities in educating and promoting safety on our waterways.
“Joint safety demonstrations like this are not new to our local water focused organisations and these type of displays are a regular occurrence throughout the year here in Athlone.
“Spectators will have the opportunity to see and use some of the safety equipment on the day. As part of the Croi na hÉireann Festival this event is a must see for all family members,” Athlone Boat Club PRO, Padraig Hegarty, stated.
