Gardaí yesterday interviewed a group of teenagers who prompted a major search-and-rescue operation after they took a fishing boat on to Lough Derg in Co Clare without an engine or lifejackets.
A member of the public raised the alarm when he saw the seven teens, five males and two girls, on the lake. They were seen rowing the 17ft fishing boat from the mainland at Knockafort toward Holy Island off Mountshannon on the western side of the lake.
The Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard was scrambled and sent to the scene to search for the group and the boat was escorted back to the mainland.
“People have to remember that lifejackets or similar personal flotation devices are mandatory on fishing boats on the lake,” a coastguard spokesman said.
A Garda spokesman said a file is being prepared.