Sheephaven SAC continued providing assistance to the Irish Coastguard and the RNLI in the search for the missing person in the vicinity of Buncrana shorefront.

On Sunday morning John Joe Rowland led a further underwater search, which was was conducted using a towing array to pull the divers along the seabed, with the intention of covering a greater area with the personnel available on the day.

Unfortunately on the day the in-water visibility was particularly poor; no doubt a product of the recent heavy rain and the underwater element of the search was curtailed as a result.

The painstaking process of the ongoing search in Buncrana requires fortitude on behalf of the searchers but it also requires resources, which Sheephaven S&R relies upon the goodwill of the community to fund.

During the year the club was fortunate to be the beneficiary of a generous grant from the National Lottery, which will refurbish two of the older boats, while Donegal County Council has been a loyal financial supporter for many years, both of which are very much appreciated indeed.

Additionally the Smith Family made a very generous donation earlier in the year.

Over the last few years the Garten Swimmers have also been kind enough to consider Sheephaven as a worthy cause for some of the proceeds of their Sheephaven Swim, held this year in July and followed later by another swim in Garten Lake.

While the Search and Recovery Divers provide all their own dive gear, these funds made available throughout the year help to keep the dive boats in the water and other essential equipment such as the air compressor serviceable.

So it with a deep sense of gratitude that Sheephaven SAC wish to say thank you to all who have helped us provide a Search and Recovery Unit with their donations, all of which is essential to keeping this community led service available for those unfortunate times when tragedy might strike and divers are needed to help return a loved one to their families.