Councillor launches groundbreaking beach safety initiative on emotional day - Donegal Daily

Brian Carr was emotional today when he officially launched the Coastal Location Code initiative at Narin and Portnoo beach.

Donegal County Council has officially launched a pioneering new beach safety initiative that was inspired and driven by Cllr Brian Carr.

The Coastal Location Code was officially launched this afternoon at Narin and Portnoo Beach, on what turned out to be an emotional day for the Carr family.

In August 2025, Carr and members of his family were swept out to sea by a rip tide on Tramore beach.

Thankfully, they were saved following the heroic actions taken by Maitiú Clerkin, Dualta Bracken, Turlough McDaid and Joseph Herron.

However, emergency services had huge difficulty in locating Carr and the members of his family.

Following the ordeal, Carr recognised that something needed to be done to assist emergency services in conducting rescue operations across Donegal.

That is where the idea for this new groundbreaking initiative was born.

Carr was visibly emotional when addressing the large crowd that had gathered for the launch.

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Two of his rescuers Dualta Bracken and Maitiú Clerkin were present at the official unveiling of the Coastal Location Code.

Brian Carr and his wife Marie, pictured with two of his rescuers Dualta Bracken and Maitiú Clerkin.

"There are two people here today, and they are the reason that I am here today, and that's Dualta and Maitiú. We became friends last year, and we'll be friends for life," said Carr.

Carr said that after spending some time reflecting on his terrifying experience, he brought a motion to the council chambers.

"On November 25, 2025, I brought a two-part motion to the council. The first part was focused on access to beaches across the county, but the second element of the motion was that Donegal County Council looked into providing an individual identification number or code for every beach and pier in the county.

"The identification number would assist the public to accurately direct emergency services to the correct location during an incident, and here we are today," said Carr.

Carr heaped praise on the Donegal County Council for fast-tracking this initiative and bringing it to life so quickly after the motion was tabled.

"I have to thank the Donegal County Council for the work they have done, and all the different groups that we've worked closely with to deliver this project.

"To be standing here today, after only raising it in November is just fantastic. It's a very, very special day for me and my family, and once again a big thanks to everyone for coming here today. I'll continue to ensure that we get this rolled out across the county and beyond," said Carr.

Carr then highlighted how just a few days after he had brought the motion to the council, a bizarre series of coincidences took place that almost reassured him that this initiative was something that he needed to get over the line.

"My mother had a fall, and we needed to take her to hospital by ambulance. Thankfully, she has recovered well, but the two ambulance drivers who came to take Mum, were the same two paramedics that treated me on the beach last year. As I entered the ambulance, the first thing I saw was the headline in a local newspaper of my motion for the council to introduce identification numbers for beaches.

"Then the first person that I met in Letterkenny Hospital was the person who had directed emergency services to Tramore from my wife Marie's house nearby, it was a strange set of coincidences, but I knew this was an initiative that I had to pursue as I know it will help saves lives," said Carr.