When Dublin Bay became the theatre for a major emergency plan earlier this month, its author wasn't to be seen anywhere near the "stage". He wasn't swinging from a helicopter winch, nor was he on board one of the lifeboats participating in the simulated rescue. He wasn't directing the "head" and "body" count, as the "survivors" were brought ashore.
Yet he knew exactly what was happening, as the emergency services responded to a distress call from the roll-on-roll-off ferry, Dawn Merchant, with 45 passengers and 37 crew on board. Capt Liam Kirwan was several miles away in the Irish Coast Guard's communications headquarters in Leeson Lane, in the company of observers from Britain and the Isle of Man.
Was it a success? Would the Dublin Metropolitan Major Emergency Plan pass the test? A man of few words, Capt Kirwan is loth to pass judgment. Weather conditions were very stable for the exercise, everyone involved was aware of the plan, and it is almost impossible to predict responses in an actual situation. Even in those controlled circumstances, six people were "almost" not accounted for.
Preparation and training for emergency response in this area has to be kept under constant review, given that the Irish Sea is one of the most dangerous maritime corridors in Europe. Though it doesn't have an "Atlantic" reputation, it is the main thoroughfare for an estimated 25 million travellers every year. The concentration of RNLI lifeboat stations below major air routes and close to major ferry links is no accident.
The east coast has had its own medium-range search-and-rescue helicopter for almost three years now - marking another key stage in the development of Irish rescue services over the past decade. Once heavily reliant on Britain for assistance in emergencies, this State now co-operates regularly with the UK authorities.
In fact, there was much to celebrate when the 10th anniversary of what is now the Irish Coast Guard (formerly the Irish Marine Emergency Service) was marked in Fenit, Co Kerry, in late May. When Capt Kirwan, a former ship's master and marine surveyor, was appointed as its director just over a decade ago, he was faced with very scant resources.
The RNLI had its chain of lifeboat stations heavily subsidised from Britain, and the Air Corps had its search-and-rescue helicopter wing, along with the Naval Service and An Slua Muir∅, the Naval Reserve. However, the coastguard, run by Britain before independence, had never been replaced. British retention of the Treaty ports in the early years of the new State virtually "absolved" early governments from having any maritime policy.
The lack of priority given to dedicated search-and-rescue became the focus of a lobby group set up on the west coast in 1988. The West Coast Search and Rescue Action Committee was initiated with a public meeting in Killybegs, Co Donegal, by Dr Joan McGinley, then a busy mother of four from a fishing family, and now a fisheries researcher. The group was so effective that a Government report was commissioned, which recommended setting up a new division of the Department of the Marine to run the MRCC, the coast radio service, and coast and cliff rescue. A medium-range helicopter base was established at Shannon within two years. Initially, the base was served by the Air Corps.
Capt Liam Kirwan was with the Marine Surveyor's Office (MSO) when he successfully applied to direct the new service. He had trained with Irish Shipping and had served 20 years at sea. Marine accidents were part of his job; he had been involved in identification of the fishing vessel Sharelga, which was sunk by a submarine off the Louth coast in April 1982. He also had direct experience of the major pollution alerts off this coastline during that period, including the Kowloon Bridge, which ran up on rocks off the south-west coast in 1986.
"At that stage, the MSO was also responsible for the coast and cliff rescue service, which comprised some very dedicated volunteers who had to work with horse-drawn wagons," he recalls. "From 1986, we were getting inquiries from people who wanted to do lifeguarding, so I started getting involved in re-equipping the units, and in running training programmes for the volunteers, including cliff-climbing and rescue techniques."
From such very small beginnings, Kirwan's unit has grown to 68 full-time staff and 700 volunteers, with its own nerve centre at the Department of the Marine in Leeson Lane, working with the coastal radio stations at Valentia, Co Kerry, and Malin Head, Co Donegal. It has an annual budget of between £14 and £15 million, and runs the two medium-lift helicopters at Shannon and Dublin.
RNLI lifeboats and community inshore rescue boats are declared resources, as is the new Commissioners of Irish Lights tender, Granuaile. The Shannon helicopter has become a vital lifeline on the Atlantic seaboard, with Capt Dave Courtney, its chief pilot until recently, as its public face.
Earlier this year, Capt Courtney and crew flew a record mission in terms of distance, when the Sikorsky worked with the Scottish Coast Guard on rescuing 10 crew from a German-registered Spanish trawler 200 miles north-west of Donegal.
A civilian contract is due to be taken up at the south-east base in Waterford in September, which will ensure 24-hour cover at a third location. The Air Corps is due to get at least two new medium-lift helicopters - one positive outcome of the tragic loss of four airmen while returning from a successful rescue mission off the Waterford coast in July 1999.
Naval Service patrol ships provide support, and there are liaison agreements or memorandums of understanding with every major rescue agency, including Dublin Fire Brigade, which had six trained crew available for offshore firefighting and medical response at any time. Local authority lifeguards have recently been brought under the network, while there is also an agreement with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland on handling radioactive material.
The brief is much more extensive than rescue at sea. The Coast Guard is also responsible for inland water safety. Ireland has international obligations on pollution, salvage and protection of the marine environment to 200 miles.
"We have £2.3 million worth of our own pollution response equipment now, and we are working with local authorities and harbour authorities," Capt Kirwan says. The Minister for the Marine's support has been secured for providing emergency towing vessels, or tugs, and there may be co-operation with Britain on this.
Sea safety and raising awareness is constant, and a joint initiative has been run in co-operation with all the relevant organisations for more than a year. Last year, 57 lives were lost at sea and the Irish Coast Guard was involved in more than 1,700 incidents.
The growth in marine leisure has led to a significant increase in pleasure craft accidents, while economic pressures have contributed to fatalities in commercial fishing. In spite of technological improvements, last year was the worst in a decade in terms of the number of fishing fatalities.
Capt Kirwan's staff and volunteers have to live with the reality of hoax calls (running at an average of one a week) and incidents involving carelessness. He says he would "love" to have the budget for television advertising, like the National Safety Council on road safety. However, every incident has to be responded to, without question or judgment, even if there are times when the lives of volunteers are at great risk.
