People encouraged to be careful if swimming outdoors in sunny weather

WITH TEMPERATURES set to soar this weekend, people are being asked to be careful if swimming off the Clare and Kerry coasts.

Limerick people are expected to take advantage of the sunshine as the mercury climbs to close on 30 degrees and head to the traditional resorts of Kilkee, Ballybunion and their surrounds.

But they are being asked, if they do venture into the Atlantic Ocean to remain safe and vigilant.

Councillor Cillian Murphy, who represents West Clare is urging people to swim at lifeguarded locations.

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"Swim between the signs on these beaches. We have had a number of incidents on beaches in Clare recently where people have had to be rescued," he said.

He warned people against swimming at Doughmore Beach in Doonbeg, saying while it is lovely for walking dogs and playing on, it's not suitable for venturing off the coast of.

"The council has gone to great lengths. We've worked with the community in Doonbeg to ensure there is good signage up, that leaflets have been put into all the accommodation providers, that there's notifications out to all of the business people and local community. We've worked to get the message right," he told LimerickLive.

Kilkee kids are chaos merchants. The 'rally' call goes up and they all lash off the pier. Love it so much. The freedom. pic.twitter.com/9xVcWr1JpW

— tararoonies (@tararoonies) August 9, 2022

"It's not a beach for swimming. There are plenty other beaches in West Clare which are as safe as they can be. But I can't stress enough how dangerous Doughmore Beach is. It's one of the most beautiful beaches in West Clare, but it's one of the most dangerous, and people should not swim there. Full stop."

Youngsters are expected to dive off into the ocean around Kilkee, and councillor Murphy has also urged caution around this.

He acknowledged diving into the ocean is "a rite of passage".

"Of course, diving off the pier is the gateway activity. You go from the pier, you get a bit braver and start going out to the diving boards. Again, they are in place. There are signs and tide-meters there which tell you if it's safe to do so. But there's always a danger when you jump off cliffs into the sea. You don't know what is happening under the water. Rocks could shift. Things that were safe six months or a year ago, or the last time someone was in Kilkee, it might have radically changed underwater," he said.

His advice around cliff diving is to "be sensible".

"There's no point in saying it's not going to happen. Kids have been jumping off the cliffs in Kilkee for hundreds of years. We have to take a pragmatic approach to it, and encourage parents to know where their kids are jumping from. Have a check with the coastguard. We have a lot of people who'd have a very good sense of where is safe," Cllr Murphy concluded.

Businessman David Neville runs classes for youngsters around the Clare coast, and said while it's fortunate Kilkee bay is relatively sheltered, it's not the case everywhere.

"Some beaches are manned by lifeguards, and what the lifeguards would do is put up a red and yellow flag in a section of the beach. Swimmers are to swim between the red and yellow flags," he said.

Mr Neville said never be afraid to approach a lifeguard, especially when swimming a new area.

"It's always good to get that bit of local knowledge," he added.

Meanwhile, the ESB has moved to remind the general public of the dangers and potentially serious consequences of swimming in any reservoir.

A spokesperson for the utility firm said: "These areas are not appropriate for swimming because of the risk of deep and fast-flowing waters, changing water levels and uneven ground."

Locally, these waters include the Ardnacrusha headrace and tailrace canal.

Yesterday, Met Eireann issued a yellow warning cautioning of "very warm or hot weather" on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.