Waterford RNLI press officer attends poignant training event in Cork
Pictured are Lifeboat Press Officers with Nuala McAloon, Siobhan McGarry and Niamh Stephenson (RNLI), with Naoive Coggin holding a photo of her son, Cian. Pic: Larry Dunne (Dunmore East RNLI)
The Press Officer from Dunmore East RNLI branch in County Waterford was among a group of press and social media officers from the RNLI who attended a training workshop in Ballycotton last week.
Peter Grogan is the Dunmore Lifeboat Press Officer (LPO) and is responsible for sharing news from the station regarding rescues, events and other aspects of the day to day activities of the organisation.
Peter is also the main point of contact for Waterford News & Star and other media outlets regarding information on operations carried out by the branch.
In an online post the Dunmore branch highlighted the fact that Peter joined his colleagues from other RNLI branches at the training event in Ballycotton.
However, there was a poignant aspect to the event too as the organisation noted on its social media page: 'As part of the workshop, they were privileged to hear from Naoive Coggin, mother of Cian Nugent, who at 21 years old, died in a rip current in 2023. Naoive spoke with courage and generosity.'
Naoive's message was clear: rip currents are fast, silent and deadly.
The RNLI encourages people to learn how to spot them and what to do if they encounter one.
If caught in a rip the RNLI encourages people to: 1 - Float to Live; 2 - Stay calm on your back to control breathing 3 - Then swim parallel to the shore to leave the current, and raise a hand for help.
