Roscommon Civil Defence are appealing to the public not to tamper with lifebuoys unless they're needed.
It comes following an incident at Portrunny on Wednesday evening where three life rings were knotted and thrown into the water.
Once discovered, Civil Defence volunteers spent almost an hour unknotting the safety rings and returning them to their designated holders.
Speaking to Shannonside FM news Civil Defence Officer Claire Keane urged people to ensure the lifebuoys are in their correct place if they are required for an emergency.
"You don't want a situation to arise where somebody needs it and they find it already mangled in the water. People are swimming in unsupervised areas where there's unfortunately no lifeguard there and the only safety net you have is that lifebuoy. If someone is in distress you can throw it to them, they can grab it and you can pull in. The volunteers were very frustrated after coming back last night. We don't want anyone to spoil anyone's fun, everyone go out and enjoy the water, enjoy the good weather. We're not always lucky enough to have it all the time but lifebuoys aren't toys. These aren't things to be played around with. They're there for safety".
