Council asked to provide earlier lifeguard cover after five near-fatal incidents
Donegal County Council is to examine extending lifeguard cover at selected beaches amid warnings that five people could have lost their lives during serious incidents in the Bundoran area in May.
The summer bathing season runs from 1st June to the 15th of September, but busy beach activity earlier in the summer has prompted calls for this to be reviewed.
Sinn Féin councillor for Bundoran Michael McMahon says changing weather patterns and longer periods of good weather meant beaches were attracting large crowds earlier in the year.
“What I am very worried about is that we could have had five fatalities in my area in May, only for the quick work of the RNLI and people who happened to see what was going on,” he told Monday’s plenary meeting of Donegal County Council.
“The fact of the matter is that there wasn’t any lifeguard.”
Cllr McMahon said some off-duty lifeguards became aware of the incidents through social media and subsequently arrived at the scene.
“They were very upset that they weren’t there,” he said.
He said the county’s seasonal lifeguards performed a “fantastic job” but the council remained heavily reliant on students who were generally unavailable until June because of school and college commitments.
“What we need to be looking at is to see if there is an alternative for lifeguards, or some sort of security for the beaches, from May 1st until the students are ready,” Cllr McMahon said.
“Our job is to make sure that people who go to the beach know that they are going to be secure, that there are lifeguards there and that they come home safely.”
Cllr Noel Jordan seconded the motion and highlighted the large numbers visiting Bundoran, Rossnowlagh and other Blue Flag beaches during periods of good weather.
He said the incidents described by Cllr McMahon had come very close to resulting in fatalities.
Donegal County Council currently provides seasonal lifeguard cover at 13 designated beaches and employs 51 lifeguards and supervisory staff for the 2026 season.
Director of Environment & Climate, Michael McGarvey, confirmed that the council would review the possibility of extending the season but advised councillors to manage their expectations.
Members were told that providing lifeguards at every designated beach from the beginning of May would not be possible under the current staffing model.
Mr McGarvey said retaining staff until September also proves difficult, particularly when young lifeguards have opportunities to travel or take up other employment.
“For young people, in times of full employment, even towards the end of the season, their friends may be going abroad, there is a temptation for some of them to say, ‘Do you know what? We will leave earlier.’
“It is actually quite challenging to keep them in place. I acknowledge the lifeguard supervisors and the team there who do that.
“It is challenging in the early part of the season, and it is challenging to keep the numbers in place into September.
“We will commit here to absolutely looking at this to see if there are a few particular locations where we could extend it."
This article is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme