Sir, - The National Safety Council recently decided that swimming and surfing at Strandhill beach will be prohibited. How does it expect to enforce this ban?
After the withdrawal of a lifeguard service at the beach over three years ago, prominent signs were erected stating that Strandhill was a "surfing beach" and was not safe for bathers. These signs were typically ignored and bathers regularly got into difficulty. The worst, and most recent case resulted in the deaths of three teenagers last May.
Despite a petition from local residents to Sligo County Council in June 1995 for the lifeguard service to be restored, the then county secretary, Mr. Hubert Kearns, defended the withdrawal of lifeguards on the grounds that it would have been irresponsible to "intimate that the beach was safe" by placing lifeguards on it.
There is, of course, no such thing as a safe beach - people can drown in any tidal conditions if safety is ignored and that is why lifeguards are employed. The Irish lifeguard service is completely inadequate - local authorities, which are responsible for providing lifeguard services, do not hire people until June, regardless of weather conditions. Yet a visitor to Strandhill beach on a fine day in May would see many swimmers and surfers in the ocean. In fact, a visit to Strandhill in the middle of winter would provide the visitor with a spectacle of seeing many surfers enjoying the waves.
Strandhill is renowned as one of Europe's finest surfing locations and attracts surfers from all over the world. The waves there have been surfed for nearly 40 years and in all that time there have been no surfing-related drownings. In fact, I believe that there has never been a surfing death anywhere in Irish waters since the sport took off here. Many national and international competitions have been held at Strandhill and a surfing and information centre is planned for the area.
The authorities' decision to prohibit use of the beach at Strandhill simply will not work. I believe that surfers will continue to enjoy the waves there, as they have for many years. What is needed from the authorities is a more measured approach, including a vast improvement of the national lifeguard service at beaches. What is needed from the public is greater understanding of the need to respect the sea.
I, for one, will be surfing at Strandhill again soon. - Yours, etc., Paul Regan,
Upper Grand Canal Street, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.