Together, let’s bring our drownings down for good.
That’s the message from a local water safety expert to mark World Drowning Prevention Day.
It’s a day to remember loved ones lost in our waters and also for a day to practice water safety in everything you do.
Claire Dunphy Kilkenny Water Safety PRO has this advice for KCLR listeners; “We’re lucky here in Kilkenny and Carlow that we have a lot of river swimming spaces that are shallow enough that you don’t have to swim in areas where you’re out of your depth, many people are swimming for the first time this year and have not had swimming lessons for more than 15 months because of Covid so really need to keep in mind that without that experience over the lockdown think before we swim this summer”.
She adds “We ask you swim at lifeguarded areas, we have five rivers that are lifeguarded in Kilkenny with lifeguards stationed every day during the summer so it’s really important that you know the times and the areas where lifeguards are on and you swim at those locations, if you can’t manage to get to those locations we ask just swim in known local areas that are safe and where ring buoys are present for rescues at all times, always swim with someone who knows the local area and who knows the local rivers”.
