Emergency Services Cross to Whiddy Island for Multi-Agency Training Exercise
Gardaí, the HSE, Cork County Fire Service and Sunoco took part in a training exercise on Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay last week.
An Garda Síochána, the HSE, Cork County Fire Service and Sunoco, which owns the island's oil terminal, took part in a training exercise on Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay last week.
An Garda Síochána Cork said:
"This training exercise was about understanding our capabilities to deal with a significant event taking place on Whiddy Island in County Cork."
Squad cars are not often seen at sea, but photographs shared with the post show an ambulance and several Garda vehicles crossing on a ferry. The post does not give further details, such as the exact date or the scenario tested.
Whiddy lies near the head of Bantry Bay, measures approximately 5.6km by 2.4km, and had 31 residents at the 2022 census. The ferry trip from Bantry pier takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Images: An Garda Síochána (via Facebook.)
A large oil terminal dominates the island. Gulf Oil built it in the late 1960s to receive the biggest supertankers coming directly from the Middle East. It has been described as Ireland's biggest liquid fuels terminal and holds a significant share of the State's oil reserves; the National Oil Reserves Agency is one of its largest customers. Sunoco completed its purchase of the terminal from Zenith Energy in 2024.
A Cork County Council public notice on the draft External Emergency Plan for the Sunoco Bantry Bay Terminal describes it as an Upper Tier site under Ireland's Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulations. The Health and Safety Authority says preparing external emergency plans for upper-tier sites is a duty of the local authority, the HSE and Gardaí, and those plans must be tested at least once every three years. The Garda post does not say whether last week's exercise was connected to that plan.
Whiddy is also remembered for what is considered one of the worst maritime disasters in Irish history. In the early hours of 8 January 1979, the oil tanker Betelgeuse exploded at the terminal's offshore jetty, and 50 people died: 42 French nationals, seven Irish nationals and one British national.
Getting emergency care to an island community brings its own challenges. Day to day, the Bantry Inshore Search and Rescue Association (BISRA) runs an emergency lifeboat service for the Bantry Bay community. The registered charity is a declared resource of the Irish Coast Guard, and it trains and coordinates with the HSE Ambulance Service, the county fire brigade and An Garda Síochána.
Speaking to West Cork People in 2020, a BISRA volunteer said the rescue boat was the fastest way to bring an injured person off Whiddy, or to get a doctor or paramedic onto the island. For any incident on or near the water, BISRA's advice is to dial 112 or 999 and ask for the Coast Guard.
On 2 March 2026, the HSE announced that the West Cork Islands Health Forum had launched a National Ambulance Service video showing island residents what to expect when they ring 999 or 112. You can watch Making a 999 Medical Emergency Call from an Island on YouTube.
