The Irish Coast Guard unit that tragic volunteer Caitríona Lucas was attached to, has responded to its first callout since they lost their friend and colleague.
It was a week ago today that the country was shocked to hear of the loss of the 41-year-old mother of two.
Caitríona and two colleagues were on board a rescue boat that capsized at sea in Kilkee while the brave trio were searching for a missing Clare school teacher. Caitríona and two other members of her unit had travelled from their base in Doolin to assist in the search for David McMahon.
Yesterday, the Doolin unit of the service, of which Caitríona’s husband Bernard is also a member, responded to their first call since last Monday’s tragic events.
The team was called to assist the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to recover an injured tourist from a popular coastal trail that crosses the Cliffs of Moher.
It was the third time in recent weeks that the Coast Guard was called out to locate and recover a casualty from the Burren Way walking route.
A Spanish tourist was reported to have been injured close to Aill Na Searrach north of the main viewing area at the cliffs.
An ambulance was sent from Ennistymon however the area is not accessible by vehicles and so the Doolin unit of the volunteer service was alerted as they often are.
Coast Guard personnel and ambulance paramedics located the casualty who was assessed and treated at the scene.
She was then carried over 500m across rough ground on a specialised all-terrain stretcher to the road where the ambulance was waiting.
The woman, who is believed to have sustained a fractured ankle, was taken to hospital for treatment.
On Wednesday evening, thousands of people turned out in nearby Liscannor where Caitríona lay in repose. On Thursday morning, hundreds of members from the statutory and voluntary emergency services formed a multi-agency guard-of-honour at Caitríona’s funeral before making the journey on foot to Kilmacreehy cemetery.
Members of the different services who attended the funeral took turns carrying the volunteer hero’s coffin to the graveyard.
In a particularly moving moment at the graveside, mourners applauded after the crew of the Shannon based Irish Coast Guard helicopter carried out a ceremonial fly past.
Meanwhile, a social media campaign was mounted over the weekend for one of Caitríona’s paintings to be used on an Irish stamp.
The picture of a Sikorsky S61N helicopter, an aircraft formerly used by the Irish Coast Guard, and a rescue boat was painted by the talented artist.