The awards are sponsored by the Guardian newspaper in association with The Lakeside Hotel.
Killaloe is the first Inland Coast Guard Unit and is just one of 55 Coast Guard Units in the Republic of Ireland crewed by a total of 1,000 male and female volunteers. All Units are operated totally by local crews who give freely of their valuable time and effort to the Coast Guard, local community and ‘those in peril on inland waterways or on the sea’, cliffs and coasts of Ireland. Training is provided for the volunteers, and these are available on-call, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Killaloe Coast Guard Unit has 26 volunteers who are fully qualified in Water Rescue, Land Search & Rescue, First Aid Response and Mountain Rescue.
