Brought to you by the RNLI
Each year, 28 people die accidentally around the Irish coast. Many of these deaths are preventable with the right water safety knowledge.
The Respect the Water campaign sees the GAA team up with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to show the benefits of learning tips and skills on how to survive if you find yourself suddenly plunged into cold water and fighting for your life.
Neil McManus of Antrim, Kilkenny’s Jackie Tyrrell, Dublin’s Lyndsey Davey and Lee Chin from Wexford were all shown how quickly, and how dangerously, the temperature of their bodies could drop in extreme circumstances.
The quartet were dropped into a tank with a water temperature of 12 degrees, actually warmer than the sea off the coast of Ireland.
McManus spoke of the “unimaginable shock” of what it would be to drop suddenly into such cold temperatures, while Tyrrell added, “you could see how people would panic and freak out in those situations.”
All four players then headed for the RNLI college where lifeboat volunteers learn their lifesaving skills, with Chin describing the survival techniques he was given as he hit the water from a height.
The RNLI is a registered charity dedicated to saving lives at sea and on selected inland waters.
Based at 46 locations in Ireland, both coastal and inland, the RNLI is primarily a search and rescue service.
However, recently it has turned its focus to drowning prevention, trying to save the lives of people who are drowning every year despite the incredible work of the lifeboat crews and other search and rescue agencies, such as the Coast Guard.
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