County Longford Scuba Divers hold special ceremony to bless new van

FOLLOWING months of fundraising and thanks to the generosity of various grant providers, County Longford Scuba Divers has announced the arrival of its new van.

The van will play a vital role in enabling the local scuba divers to provide the search and recovery service to the community.

To mark this occasion, they held a van blessing ceremony recently, conducted by Fr James McKiernan.

Speaking to Longford Live, diving officer Paul Clancy said the ceremony went well. “All our members came there and we asked public representatives as well to come along that sort of helped us along the way because without their help it's very difficult to get some of those projects over the line.”

Paul feels the new van has “future-proofed” the club for years to come regarding searches.

He added that everyone in the club covers the expense of their own equipment and training. “We're completely reliant on the community and donations to help us towards it,” explained Paul.

County Longford Scuba Divers commented: “Having a reliable vehicle is extremely important in allowing our team to respond when needed and continue delivering this essential service to the people of County Longford and surrounding areas.

“We are extremely grateful to Fr James for taking the time to join us and bless our new vehicle. We were also delighted to welcome a number of special guests on the day, including Cllr Gerry Hagan, ClIr Seamus Butler, Cllr Peggy Nolan, ClIr Sean Mimnagh, TD Micheál Carrigy, Sarah Staunton from Diving Ireland, Inspector Declan McGlynn and Adrian Green from Longford Community Resources.

County Longford Scuba Divers would like to express its sincere gratitude to everyone who helped make this possible. “The support, generosity and encouragement we received throughout the fundraising process, along with the assistance of our grant providers, have been invaluable. A special thank you also goes to the local community and friends of the club, who have supported us through our fundraising events and in so many other ways over the years.

“Your continued support means so much to our club and helps us continue the work we do,” concluded the scuba divers. “We are incredibly proud to serve the community of County Longford and look forward to continuing to do so for many years to come.”

County Longford Scuba Divers have around 26 search and recovery divers on board currently.