The narrative highlights the historic achievement of Dawson Stelfox, who became the first Irish climber to summit Everest in 1993, following the path taken by Mallory and Irvine in 1924. This updated edition not only recounts Stelfox's groundbreaking ascent but also celebrates subsequent Irish mountaineering milestones, including Clare O'Leary as the first Irishwoman to reach the summit and Pat Falvey's climbs via two distinct routes. The book captures the spirit of adventure and the evolution of Irish climbing on Everest.
On 13 March 2017, the Rescue 116 crew of Capt. Dara Fitzpatrick, Capt. Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby, and Ciarán Smith took off from Dublin airport just after 2300 hours for a medical evacuation off the west coast. The first indication of disaster came when the crew failed to answer a radio call at 12.46 a.m. At 02.16 hours, sister helicopter Rescue 118 spotted a casualty and debris in the water. There would be no survivors from R116, and extensive searches failed to locate the bodies of two of the four crew. The crash occurred just six months after the loss of another experienced volunteer, Caitriona Lucas from Doolin Coast Guard in Co Clare; and 18 years after the loss of four Air Corps crew who were returning from a night rescue in thick fog off the south-east coast. In Search and Rescue , Lorna Siggins exposes the shocking systemic flaws that led to these tragic deaths, but also looks at successful rescues where, despite all the odds, the courage and dedication of members of the Irish Coast Guard and the volunteers who work with them have saved countless lives, including the dramatic rescue of paddleboarders Sara Feeney and Ellen Glynn off the coast of Clare in 2020.
