About us

Foyle Search and Rescue is a registered, voluntary based charity, operating in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland, but cover search and rescue operations UK and Ireland wide when required. The charity's sole aim is the preservation of life in and around the River Foyle.
Foyle Search and Rescue was set up by local people in 1993 in response to the alarmingly high number of drownings in the river and has adopted the role of preventing suicide and supporting families in the City.

Our volunteers are from the local community and selflessly give up hours of their personal time every week to help those in need. We patrol the river on Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights, identified peak times of need, from 9.00pm to 3.00am, engaging with people in distress, maintaining lifebelts and saving lives.

We have an Emergency Response Pager Team, made up of our dedicated volunteers who are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for incidents and emergencies outside of patrol times. This team are paged by the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) to respond to potential suicide attempts and incidents in and around the river.

Alongside our aim ‘the Preservation of Life in and around The River Foyle’ we also provide safety cover at various events throughout the year e.g. Foyle Maritime Festival, Halloween and various music events. Along with providing talks or visits to our base to various schools, community groups and businesses and we are also involved in education on water safety and suicide awareness within our local community. We facilitate the North West Bereaved by Suicide Support Group for families and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide.

Foyle Search and Rescue is an extremely well thought of organisation throughout our City and further afield. Our organisation is a prime example of how a local group of volunteers can come up with an idea to improve their community and turn it into a fully-fledged Charity.