Tragedy At Wicklow Beach After Woman Dies

Blainroe Beach

he alarm was raised at 3.30pm on Tuesday afternoon after a person was spotted floating face down off the coast of Blainroe Beach.

Situated between Silver Strand and Wicklow Town, the beach is one of the smaller but still hugely popular swimming spots along the Wicklow coast.

A similar tragedy occurred at the neighbouring Magheramore Beach in November of last year.

The Marine Rescue Coordination Centre responded to the initial emergency call, Greystones coast guards soon on the scene.

The woman in her early sixties was taken from the water by her husband, the RNLI crew attempting to resuscitation before transporting her to hospital shortly after 4pm.

Sadly, the woman was later pronounced dead.

A Coast Guard spokesperson stated, “Following a request from the National Emergency Operations Centre yesterday afternoon, the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Dublin tasked the Greystones Coast Guard Unit to attend the scene at Blainroe, Co. Wicklow, where a member of the public was recovered from the water. The casualty was transferred into the care of the HSE.”

It was noted that the recent heatwave has seen a dramatic increase in people hitting beaches and coastal spots, but this has also resulted in an increase in water-related emergencies. Two recent drownings involved a teenager in Lough Ree in Westmeath and a 16-year-old girl off Burrow Beach in Dublin.

On Saturday here in Greystones, there were four very close calls at The Cove, after the strong currents caught young swimmers by surprise.