#rnli – The crew of the RNLI lifeboat station at Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay will hold their annual ceremony to remember the 15 volunteers that died on service in 1895 on Christmas Eve as well as all those who lost their lives around our coasts in 2014. Families are especially welcome to attend this long-standing local tradition of remembrance.
The short ceremony will take place at mid-day on Christmas Eve at the lighthouse end of Dun Laoghaire's popular East Pier and will include music, an ecumenical blessing, a contemporary newspaper account of the 1895 tragedy and a piped lament.
Both RNLI lifeboats stationed at Dun Laoghaire will launch and the crews will lay wreaths at sea close to the pier.
The ceremony is a long-standing Christmas Eve tradition that remembers the lives of the 15 volunteer crew that died when their lifeboat capsized in gale force winds while attempting to rescue those on board the SS Palme that had run aground off Blackrock, Co. Dublin. All lives lost at sea will also be included in the ceremony.
Relatives of the original 1895 lifeboat crew are expected to be amongst those who will walk the pier for the 20-minute ceremony. Musician William Byrne and journalist Fergal Keane will be joined by a lone piper on the East Pier lighthouse battery during the short ceremony that has been facilitated by the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company. In case of inclement weather, an alternative ceremony will still be held closer to the lifeboat station.