Boyne fishermans rescue on ear to the ground

Local dairy farmer Thomas Daly first encountered the Boyne Fisherman's Rescue service when they recovered his sister from the river 11 years ago.

Since then he has volunteered with the group, trained as a certified diver, helped to build a state of the art boathouse in Drogheda, and spent countless hours searching Ireland’s rivers and lakes for missing persons.

The service is entirely voluntary, funded by donations from the local community, and works closely with the Coastguard and Gardaí in search and rescue operations.

Over 100 people are lost to Ireland’s waterways every year, and the services are tasked with both rescue and recovery. For relatives, they perform a valuable service, and Thomas knows only too well how important the work they do is to the families of victims.

On Ear to the Ground tonight (Tuesday), Darragh McCullough talks to Thomas on his farm, and follows the team as they train for a search on the River Boyne.

 

EAR TO THE GROUND  Tuesday, 3rd March 2015 RTÉ One 8.30pm