Ballybunion Sea & Cliff Rescue was founding in 1986 to provide a rescue service to the locality of North Kerry and West Limerick. The unit, manned by 35 volunteers, is situated on the Ladies Beach in Ballybunion and operates as a declared resource to the Irish Coast Guard. BSCR operate on 7 minute readiness for the D Class and 12 minutes for the Atlantic 75, always available on 24 hour pager alert. The unit is the busiest inshore CRBI unit in Ireland with an average of 25 to 30 callouts a year. Equipped with a D class inflatable boat, an Atlantic 21 boat and a new Atlantic 75 RIB, BSCR covers the coast and Shannon Estuary from Ballyheigue, Co Kerry to Foynes, Co. Having a declared night time capability also means we over lap with neighboring services to cover that area in the hours of darkness. As well as providing 24x7 Sea & Cliff Rescue, the volunteers also provide First Aid and Ambulance assistance at a handful of horse races and other events around the Ballybunion area. Our volunteers are very well trained in all aspects of rescue work up to an including the level of EMT
We rely on public donations and all year round fund raising to raise the €45,000 needed to keep the service afloat each year. None of our members are paid and all give their time freely. As an independent rescue service, Ballybunion Rescue operates as part of C.R.B.I. The Community Rescue Boats Ireland (C.R.B.I.) are a nationwide group of independent voluntary rescue boats declared available to the Coast Guard who respond to emergencies in their area of responsibility on a 24/365 basis. Other units include Cahore - Co.Wexford, Tramore -Co.Waterford, Bunmahon - Co.Waterford, Bantry - Co.Cork, Derrynane - Co.Kerry, Banna - Co.Kerry, Kilkee - Co.Clare, Limerick City, Corrib/Mask - Co.Galway and Schull - Co Cork. We are soon to have another unit, Ballinskellig CRBI.
