Tramore Helicopter Tragedy Remembered

It was on the first Friday in July in 1999 that Rescue 111 crashed in dense fog in the sand dunes of Tramore Beach. That year the first Friday was July 2 but this year it’s today.

The four crew who lost their young lives that night live on in our memories here in Tramore and we continue to live in awe of their bravery.

Tonight, I really want to salute the four men who perished that terrible night and send fondest wishes to their families, friends and colleagues.

Sgt. Patrick Mooney, aged 34

Capt. David O’Flaherty,  aged 30

Capt. Michael Baker, aged 28

Cpl. Niall Byrne, aged 24

Memorial to Rescue 111 on Tramore Promenade, Co. Waterford

Sadly, 2017, which marks the 18th anniversary of the loss of the crew of Rescue 111 is also a year which has seen the deaths (March 14) of all four crew members of Rescue 116 in Co. Mayo. This tragedy is still very, very raw and has underlined, yet again, the extent to which those who work in Search and Rescue and risk their lives for the rest of us deserve to be recognised as true heroes and thanked by us all from the very bottom of our hearts.

 

 

 

 

 

Rescue 111 Remembered

July 2 belongs to Rescue 111, the Irish Air Corps Helicopter which crashed in the sand dunes here in Tramore on this day in 1999. All four members of the crew were tragically killed on that foggy night 17 years ago:

They were:

Sgt Patrick Mooney, Stamullen, Co. Meath ~ aged 34 years

Capt. David O’Flaherty, Tullamore, Co. Offaly ~ aged 30 years

Capt. Michael Baker, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford ~ aged 28 years

Cpl. Niall Byrne Killiney, Co. Dublin ~ aged 25 years 

Monument in Honour of the Irish Air Corps Helicopter Crew who died tragically on July 2, 1999

Not a day goes by that I don’t think of these brave young men who died in the service of people, like you and me, who may need them in some emergency situation and each time I look at their names and ages carved on the monument on the Promenade in Tramore they seem to get younger and younger.

Last evening, I witnessed loving echoes of Rescue 111. I was walking in Newtown Wood when Rescue 117 flew overhead. I couldn’t see it through the thick canopy of leaves but when I was driving home along the Cliff Road, it was hovering over Tramore Bay  and just as it was making its way to Waterford Airport, a rainbow lit up the sky as if serving as a beacon. I didn’t have my camera with me but made sure to bring it when I was heading out again just before nightfall.

What was beaming in the dark skies but one of the brightest rainbows I’ve ever seen and I blew it a kiss in loving memory of those precious men who will always live on in our hearts and memories.

Rainbow of Remembrance

 

 

 

 

 

 

16th Anniversary of Helicopter Tragedy in Tramore

Monument to Helicopter Crew of Rescue 111 on Tramore Promenade

Today marks the 16th anniversary of the tragic crash of the Irish Air Corps Rescue Helicopter 111 in the sand dunes of  Tramore Beach, Co. Waterford in 1999.

As I walked down the Promenade here in Tramore early this morning, my thoughts were with the families, friends and colleagues of the four crew members who were killed on that dark, dark day in Irish aviation history.

The four brave men who died on their way home from a rescue mission in dense fog were:

Sgt.  Patrick Mooney, Stamullen, Co. Meath ~ aged 34 

Capt. Dave O’ Flaherty, Tullamore, Co. Offaly ~ aged 30 

Capt. Michael Baker, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford ~ aged 28 

Cpl. Niall Byrne, Killiney, Co. Dublin ~ aged 25 

These men will never, ever be forgotten by the people of  Tramore and there is intense goodwill and love for the Rescue Helicopter  and its crews, based at Waterford Airport,  which serve us all with such heart, altruism and skill.

But, today, let us remember, and give thanks to, those four young men who paid the ultimate price in the service of others.

Rest in Peace

Brave Men Remembered with Love ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 184

It seems only right that it is raining here in Tramore  as today marks the 14th year since the tragic loss of the crew of the Search and Rescue Helicopter in dense fog in the sand dunes in 1999

I would like to dedicate this famous poem, with and about love,  to the families of:

Sgt.  Patrick Mooney, Stamullen, Co. Meath ~ aged 34 years

Capt. Dave O’ Flaherty, Tullamore, Co. Offaly ~ aged 30 years

Capt. Michael Baker, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford ~ aged 28 years

Cpl. Niall Byrne, Killiney, Co. Dublin ~ aged 25 years

i carry your heart with me

by

E. E. Cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
                                                      i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Tramore Remembers Brave Irish Air Corps Helicopter Crew

The first  friday of July will always stand out in my mind as the saddest day  of  Tramore’s recent history.

Monument on Tramore Promenade, Co. Waterford.

 On that day in 1999,  the  Co. Waterford coast was shrouded in dense fog, just as it has been for much of this week,   and  the four-man crew of the Irish Air Corps’ Helicopter RESCUE 111 were tragically killed when they crashed into the sand dunes of  Tramore Beach as they attempted to land at nearby Waterford Airport.

A monument commemorating the brave crew is a fundamental part of Tramore’s Promenade and this  week  it has been adorned with flowers as the town remembers the bravest of brave men who were killed that evening.

‘From the People of Tramore in Appreciation’

The four who died were so young and from different parts of the country:

Sgt.  Patrick Mooney, Stamullen, Co. Meath ~ aged 34 years

Capt. Dave O’ Flaherty, Tullamore, Co. Offaly ~ aged 30 years

Capt. Michael Baker, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford ~ aged 28 years

Cpl. Niall Byrne, Killiney, Co. Dublin ~ aged 25 years

As the inscription on the monument states, the men had successfully assisted in the rescue of five people in the heavy fog before tragedy befell them.  They lost their lives fulfilling their Unit’s motto, ‘Go Mairidis Beo’ ( That others may live.)

Last evening,  as I was thinking about the men and their bereft families, while looking out to sea at sunset, by absolute chance the Rescue Helicopter came flying across the Bay from the Metal Man direction.  In my heart, I knew that today’s crew would also risk their lives to save others.  Can we ever thank such brave men and women enough and do we fully appreciate what they are prepared to do for mankind?