FEATURE: Carrick-on-Suir River Rescuers work tirelessly to bring the missing home

When tragedy strikes and a person is feared drowned in the River Suir, Carrick-on-Suir River Rescue’s volunteers take on the onerous mission of searching the waterway and recovering their remains.

“It’s not for everyone,” admits river rescuer Mark Power of the work they do. But he stresses the closure and solace families experience when a loved one’s remains are returned to them make their heartbreaking task worthwhile.

“The main thing is to find them and bring them home,” he says.

Last year Carrick River Rescue’s volunteers responded to about 10 call outs to missing persons searches.

The team comprises about 20 rescuers. A further 10 volunteers run the Carrick River Rescue charity shop on the town’s Main Street. The shop is the team’s main source of funding.

Carrick’s river rescuers are available 24/7 to respond to search and rescue call-outs on the River Suir. The dedication required is enormous.

Paddy Power, a river rescuer for over 50 years, says they have worked on searches at Christmas time while some of their missions continued for weeks.

For him, the most difficult call outs are those closest to home. “When you know someone, that is tough altogether.”

His first cousin, Michael (Mixer) Power, the team’s longest serving member with 60 years under his belt, stresses that once they start a search, they won’t stop until they find the person.

“We never call if off until we get a result.”

Over the years, the team have also worked on missing person searches on other waterways around the country. They once travelled as far as Donegal for a five-day search on the River Foyle.

They have also assisted the Coast Guard with sea search operations. The most high profile was the search for missing crew members of the Coast Guard helicopter 116 that crashed off the Mayo coast in 2017.

Some call outs come from the emergency services. Others are from fellow volunteer rescue teams based in other towns and counties who require extra help. These groups return the favour at times Carrick River Rescue needs more manpower.

Family members of missing people also contact River Rescue members directly for help. The team took part in the search in the Bansha area for the late Bobby Ryan, the victim in the Mr Moonlight murder case after he went missing in 2011. A member of the River Rescue team knew his family.

Sometimes their rescue work has a happy outcome.

Paddy Power and Michael (Mixer) Power were fishing in Carrick one day when they saved two people, one who had fallen into the river and the other who jumped in to rescue them.

Team members have also rescued animals, ranging from dogs and horses to a cow from the river.

Catherine Foley, who is the team’s only female member, still looks after a horse they rescued from the river some years ago. She is an avid animal lover and has been looking after rescued animals for over 30 years

Her involvement with Carrick River Rescue began with helping to set up its charity shop with her friend Anne Marie Torpey.

While volunteering in the shop, she decided to take part in one of the team’s call outs, which was a sea search. She ended up joining the rescue crew.

She pays tribute to the team’s veteran members for teaching her all they know about river search and rescue work.

“I love the work we do, I find it very rewarding. I wouldn’t do it otherwise and we are a great support to each other.”

When the team finds a deceased person, Catherine says she always blesses the poor soul.

For her, the most difficult and upsetting aspect of their work is when a search for a missing person becomes protracted.

“I am upset for the missing person’s family when we come in after a day and have no news for them. That is heartbreaking. You love to be able to say we have found them so their family can have closure.”

Carrick River Rescue team members Michael (Mixer) Power and Mateusz Morzyk in the boat by the river’s edge and Michael Power and John McGrath in the second boat on duty at the Barry McCarthy Swim Races in Carrick-on-Suir last July.

River Safety Patrols

Apart from their core search and rescue work, Carrick River Rescue’s volunteers are in demand to do river safety patrols at local events such as the annual Carrick-on-Suir Triathlon and Barry McCarthy Memorial Swim Races in the Suir at Sean Healy Park.

Team members once accompanied a man who undertook a marathon training swim in the Suir from Carrick-on-Suir to Waterford as part of his preparations for swimming the English Channel.

Founded over 60 years ago

Carrick River Rescue team is now over 60 years in existence. It was founded in 1963 by a group of net fishermen from the town.

Mark Power’s grandfather was one of the founders as were Michael (Mixer) Power’s and Paddy Power’s fathers.
Michael, who was 14-years-old at the time, recalled the rescue team was formed in the wake of a search his dad and other fishermen conducted for a father and son who drowned in the river.

Search and rescue work was traditionally carried out by Carrick’s fishermen as they knew the river like the backs of their hands.

“My father and his father before him did it. When anybody got lost when they were net fishing, they would stop work and look for them in the Carrick area.”

In the early years, the river rescuers used their own fishing boats on the river bank for searches. The team then set up a base in an arch under Dillon Bridge where they stored their equipment and boats for many years.

About 10 years ago, the team moved to their current home, a former builder’s yard with a large storage building and rooms.

They purchased it from Dan Casey with the help of donations and fundraising.

The team store their two inflatable rib boats, five smaller aluminium boats, two vans and two jeeps there along with their rescue clothing and equipment.

Team members gather at the River Rescue centre every morning to do maintenance work on the boats and vehicles to ensure they are ready to go when they receive a call out.

There is administration work to be done, which treasurer John Glascott looks after, and clothes donations for the charity shop to be sorted.

It’s also a place where the volunteers can meet, hang out and wind down after a search.

Richard Patterson, a team member for nearly 10 years, says after a search they return to the centre for a cup of tea. They talk about the call out and talk about the good times and bad times.

“It’s how these lads cope with it,” he says of the difficult but very important work they do.

Check out the full two-page feature on Carrick-on-Suir River Rescue in this week's edition of The Nationalist now on sale in local shops.