‘There’s no end to the rubbish’

DUNGANNON Sub Aqua Club recently finished their latest clean-up, this time at Brantry Lough in Tyrone – the third of three recent operations.

The club was formed in 1986 and became a registered charity as ‘Dungannon Sub Aqua Club Search and Recovery’ in 2015.

The clean ups are one part of the charitable aspect of the club – in attempt to keep waterways clear
for wildlife to live and people to enjoy.

“Any time we go out into the open water we always seem to come back with something.

“It’s sad to say but there’s no end to rubbish,” began club-member Kyle Spence.

The diving club have 38 members of varying degrees of skill, six trained in Search and Recovery and 12 Diver First Responders.

Kyle explained, “Out at Brantry was the third of three clean-ups that we have done recently, previously the club was at Hollywood Lake and Emy Lough in Monaghan.

“It was a fun, albeit nippy day out, hitting the water between a cold snap and an incoming storm tightened us a bit,” he joked.

Kyle shared how Brantry was in relatively good condition in comparison to other waterways.

“Out at the Brantry was actually quite clean compared to some
places, but quite simply the majority of waste in waterways comes from laziness, stuff that has been tossed out and blown into the water, although you do get more malicious acts like the fly tipping which happened recently along the River Blackwater,” he said.

When asked what the weirdest thing he had found was, Kyle admitted that he couldn’t say.

“I’ll not tell you what the weirdest thing I’ve found is but the second weirdest was an old laptop which I’m guessing was a victim of the 2009 financial crisis.”

DIVING

Sharing a bit about his own history with diving, Kyle continued, “My first dive was longer ago than I’d care to admit, but this is my second year with Dungannon Sub Aqua.

“I’m one of the club’s Diver First Responders, like a Cardiac First Responder but I’m also trained to administer oxygen and medication in diving emergencies.

“Aside from that I was recently nominated as the club’s funding officer,” he added.

“In the off season we train every Wednesday evening in Dungannon Leisure Centre and from late March onwards members could be diving anywhere off Ireland, though we do a lot off the Donegal coast.

“Currently we are training members of the Irish Scouts in snorkeling in Dungannon Leisure Centre on Wednesday evenings.

“You don’t need to have any experience to join the club,” assured Kyle.

“We have members who are qualified trainers who can help people who have never worn a wetsuit to gain open water qualifications through Diving
Ireland – the governing body of diving in Ireland and a member
of the European diving federation CMAS.”