The National Lottery sat down with Darryl Barry, Chairman and co-founder of Waterford Marine Search and Rescue, to understand more about the vital services the group provides and some of its key milestones.
Waterford Marine Search and Rescue didn’t exist 15 years ago – now it’s firmly established as a vital community service. What was the idea behind it?
It was set up in January 2010 by myself and my twin brother Declan to provide Waterford city and county with a volunteer-led, 24 hours; 365 days-a-year search, rescue and recovery service. WMSAR provides a Search, Rescue and Recovery service along with Suicide Prevention Patrols and Flood and Swiftwater Rescues to the people of Waterford City and County and nearby areas. The charity is also part of the Community Rescue Boats of Ireland (CRB) and is an Irish Sailing Power Boat Training Centre.
What is WMSAR most proud of?
Our volunteers carry out regular Suicide Prevention Patrols along the quays of Waterford city, engaging with people in distress. From January 2010 to September 2024, WMSAR has prevented 140 people from entering the water to end their lives and rescued a further 38 individuals from the river who tried to take their own lives. There have been many proud moments for us especially when saving an individual or preventing them from taking their life through suicide. But sadly, in some cases, we are called upon to help return the remains of a loved one to their family.
Fundraising obviously helps to maintain the service – how have National Lottery players helped?
When they play National Lottery games, players are directly contributing to the pot of good causes funding that is distributed every year. WMSAR received part-funding from the National Lottery through a HSE National Lottery Grant in 2022 to help fund the Suicide Prevention Patrols.
This also enabled WMSAR to purchase necessary equipment and continue to provide the service. WMSAR spends approximately €10,000 every year which is a huge expense for the charity, between, training, insurance, equipment, fuel, vehicle and boat maintenance to name but a few. These Suicide Prevention Patrols are hugely beneficial in saving lives. WMSAR volunteers also fundraise to cover operational costs.
It’s such incredibly important work – I’d say nobody involved in 2010 thought WMSAR would be where it is now?
We saw a need for a service like this, but we definitely never thought it would grow to what is now. We have more than 50 volunteers now – quite a jump from just two at the beginning and we are extremely proud of that and grateful for those who have supported us along the way, including the National Lottery. We have three state-of-the-art rescue boats including a 6.5 Meter XS RIB as our primary rescue boat and two 4.35-meter Whally boats for search and recovery. We also have a flood rescue boat and a 3-meter inflatable for small lakes and rivers.
The organisation has enjoyed some key milestones. What’s the standout one?
It has to be the opening in 2016 of the new WMSAR headquarters in Waterford. “It was monumental for all the volunteers who were able to move from a small shed on a marina in Waterford to a state-of-the-art unit. That came about through years of hard work and fundraising and meant WMSAR could provide a much more professional and highly trained service to the community.
Finally, we must include a word about the people involved in such selfless work. Who are they?
We really are lucky to have volunteers from far and wide, they are almost equally male and female and include older and younger people. Our volunteers include not only Irish people but volunteers from countries including Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia and others. Everyone involved has a passion for helping but all of them see it as something important that they just do for the community, without seeking any credit for it.
