A Keady man who has been volunteering his time with a specialist island-wide dive unit for over 20 years is now asking for his community’s support to help keep the service afloat.
Stephen McKee – who still lives in the Tassagh area to this day – has been involved with the Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery based out of Drogheda, Louth and Kiltimagh, Mayo – ever since a 2006 “pleasure diving” excursion in Ardglass unexpectantly turned into a recovery mission for Portadown man, Connor Bogues, who had sadly gone missing in the area following a boating tragedy.
Speaking to Armagh I, Stephen detailed the day he will never forget: “The lads from Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery were searching for a Portadown man called Conor Bogues. But they had no divers at the time so they approached us and asked us would we help search for him. That’s how I became involved.”
Ever since that day Stephen has been directly involved in helping the organisation’s diving team to bring “lost souls” home on an entirely voluntary basis.
Over the years he has been deployed on several recovery operations locally including at Clay Lakes and the Moy River.
And, while his job is never easy, Stephen and the entire team at Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery are committed to recovering every soul they are employed to find.
He explained: “Part of our motto is we don’t leave until the body is home. One of our operations in Strabane took us almost a full year until we successfully recovered the person. But, we don’t give up. We are committed to the search and to helping families find that closure.”
The organisation also provide a rescue service from their 24 pager base in Drogheda providing an emergency rescue service on the River Boyne, 365 days a year.
Left, members of the Dive Squad and right, members of the Rescue team
The recovery team cover the entire island of Ireland and aspire to answer “any call for help” throughout the 32 counties.
Alongside their River Rescue and Search and Recovery they also provide Subsurface Water Rescue (along the Boyne River), Flood Rescue Team, Rescue Emergency Care (Advanced First Aid) and event coverage.
With such comprehensive coverage over such a vast area, the organisation are engaged in constant fundraising campaigns to ensure the longevity of their services.
As part of their efforts, Stephen is now calling on the community here in Armagh to contribute to their fundraising pot for fresh diving equipment, as their current equipment has sadly now reached the “end of its life”.
As funding becomes increasingly scarce and equipment continues to technologically advance, Stephen says every little helps.
Added Stephen: “It’s moving with the times and health and safety. We will just go into anything – whether its sewers or rivers – so we have to move with the times and with the face gear and comms that attach to them.
“When we dive we go in units of two. We hold onto a bar and the guys above us on the top side basically drag us along the rivers, lakes and seas. We have comms that are built into our face masks so that we can talk to each other.
“We all have our own gear up as far as the masks and supply that all at our own expense. But the masks and comms sets are very expensive and we do need help with that.”
Stephen has now launched a GoFundMe page with a target of €10,000 to help replace and update the unit’s diving equipment – which has now surpassed €2,700 in donations.
He also invites anyone to contribute through donations, sponsorship or by simply sharing news of their “life-saving mission”.
Click here to make a donation to Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery fundraiser.
