RNLI volunteers from across Ireland took to the pitch ahead of All-Ireland senior hurling championship semi-final at Croke Park, to promote the charity’s water safety partnership with the GAA. The partnership aims to reduce the number of people who lose their lives through drowning each year.
While most of this work is carried out at club level through educational talks and presentations, the charity has been offered the opportunity for the last eight years to deliver a pitch activation in Croke Park on a key date in the GAA’s calendar.
Together on Saturday, both organisations delivered key water safety messages to over 80,000 people who were attending the sell-out match between Cork and Dublin and the earlier camogie championship quarter-final between Waterford and Clare.
Among the crew were Michael Livingstone from Crosshaven RNLI.
Speaking about Saturday’s event in Croke Park, Michael said: ‘This partnership highlights the shared values between ourselves in the RNLI and the GAA, notably volunteerism and the importance of communities. It is always a privilege for volunteers like ours at Crosshaven and Kinsale, to be invited to Croke Park on such a big day in the GAA’s championship calendar and to have the opportunity to promote water safety. We are now in peak summer season and one of the key messages we want people to know is that if you get into difficulty in the water this summer, Float to Live. Tilt your head back with ears submerged. Relax and try to control your breathing. Use your hands to help you stay afloat. It’s ok if your legs sink, we all float differently. Once you are through this initial shock, call for help or swim to safety if you can. Should you see someone else in difficulty, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.’
