PICTURES: Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard visits Limerick school

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IN an unique event that fused rescue readiness with inclusive education, the Irish Coast Guard’s Killaloe Unit rolled into Mid-West School for the Deaf -and straight into the hearts of students and staff alike.
The Coast Guard convoy - SUVs, an ATV fit for a moon landing, their signature orange and black D-Class rescue boat, and a Coast Guard van with flashing blue lights - pulled into Rosbrien school grounds to great excitement.
“It was like a rocket ship had landed,” said Roisin Mercier, a teacher who helped organise the visit.
“The moment they saw the vehicles, the energy just exploded.”
The visit, the first of its kind, wasn’t just a spectacle - it was a fully multilingual, inclusive experience. With the help of a qualified ISL interpreter, signing teachers, and SNAs, the Coast Guard team delivered hands-on sessions.
Haaris Sheikh, an adjunct professor of Deaf Studies at Trinity College Dublin and also a Coast Guard volunteer, framed the importance of the event.
“Deaf communities and deaf children continue to face significant marginalisation across many areas of daily life - including education, healthcare, employment, and full civic participation - when compared to their hearing peers. The fight for access to interpreters and essential services culminated in the passing of the Irish Sign Language Act in 2017. Yet, this journey highlights a broader truth: that for the deaf community, what many take for granted - such as access to information in one’s own language - has long been a fundamental human rights issue,” he said.
Damien Madden, a long-serving Coast Guard member, explained the importance of his volunteer role.
“Once the pagers go off, we have a single goal and we know precisely what to do - it’s about getting to the station within minutes, in our PPE, and deploying the resources. Whether it’s saving a life at sea, helping with a dog rescue, or recovering a casualty, we don’t choose the task - we simply respond. That’s what we’re trained for, that’s what we’re committed to, and we go home when the mission ends or we’re stood down,” he outlined.
“The excitement among the students as the Irish Coast Guard departed the school was palpable,” said teacher Roisin Mercier.
“The visually engaging presentations, made fully accessible through ISL, captivated the pupils throughout the day.”
Situated at the mouth of Lough Derg on the River Shannon, the Killaloe Coast Guard Unit is the country’s only inland Coast Guard team. Its 23 trained volunteers are on call 24/7, 365 days a year.