The man at the centre of last weekend’s dramatic sea cave rescue in west Donegal is now searching for his missing kayak!
Malachy Doyle (69), who lives on Cruit, managed to contact emergency services just before 3pm on Sunday to report he was in difficulty while kayaking close to Owey Island. A short time later, his phone went dead.
Immediately, the Sligo-based R118 Coast Guard helicopter, Arranmore RNLI, Bunbeg Coast Guard were sprung into action. A number of other local vessels also assisted with the search.
They finally located the missing man trapped inside a deep, narrow cave in choppy waters at the bottom of the steep Owey cliffs. Two long hours later, he was taken to safety before being airlifted to Letterkenny University Hospital. Malachy was released the next day with a clean bill of health.
Malachy’s missing Islander sea kayak.
Now, however, he has launched his own search – for his beloved kayak.
“If anyone’s seen my Islander sea kayak, I’d be glad of it back – and I promise I’ll be more careful in future,” Malachy said last night.
It was last seen floating off (see above) after his dramatic rescue on Sunday, was hauled up onto rocks above the wee horseshoe beach (facing Gola) on Inishinny, but it has since disappeared.
“Either it’s floated off again, or someone’s looking after it. Thanks for all the care and concern since my rescue, by the way. People are wonderful,” he concluded.
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