RNLI Lifeboat News From Ireland

File image of Skerries RNLI’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat

Skerries Lifeboat Launches To Reports Of Swimmer In Difficulty

5th March 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Skerries RNLI launched yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 4 March) after Dublin Coast Guard made them aware of a swimmer in difficulty at Red Island headland in Skerries. The volunteer crew launched the Atlantic 85 lifeboat shortly after 12pm and proceeded to…

Carrybridge RNLI reach the cruiser aground

Carrybridge RNLI Assist One Person on Motor Cruiser Aground

4th March 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

At 4.17pm on Wednesday 4 March, Carrybridge RNLI’s inshore lifeboat, Douglas Euan & Kay Richards, and Rescue Water Craft (RWC) was launched to a vessel with one person on board which had run aground approx. 2 miles North of Carrybridge.…

Howth RNLI’s inshore lifeboat approaches the stranded duo (circled) at the base of cliffs in Balscadden Bay

Howth Lifeboat Rescues Two From Rocks Cut Off By Tide

4th March 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Howth RNLI launched their Inshore lifeboat yesterday (Tuesday 3 March) to rescue two people stranded on rocks in Balscadden Bay. Pagers sounded at 1.58pm after a call was placed to the coastguard reporting two people stranded at the base of…

Volunteer coxswains present Anthony Chambers with a gift from the crew

Portrush Lifeboat Teams Bid Farewell To ‘True Legend’ As Coxswain Anthony Chambers Retires

2nd March 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Lifeboat teams from Portrush and farther afield gathered in the North Coast town on Friday (28 February) to bid farewell to one of their own, as mechanic/coxswain and crew member Anthony Chambers retires after more than 40 years. The Chambers…

Skerries volunteers in their inshore lifeboat alongside Howth RNLI

First Callout Of 2020 For Skerries Lifeboat In Launch To Emergency Beacon

25th February 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

The first time this year that pagers sounded for the volunteers of Skerries RNLI may have ended in a false alarm. But the crew of the North Co Dublin lifeboat station confirms it takes any activation of an emergency beacon…

Shani Spence from Lisbellaw and Joe Donnelly from Enniskillen

Million-Pound Training Fund Helps Carrybridge RNLI Lifesavers Learn Vital Skills

21st February 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Two volunteer crew members at Carrybridge RNLI lifeboat station have had a vital part of their crew training funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation. Shani Spence from Lisbellaw and Joe Donnelly from Enniskillen, recently travelled to the RNLI College in Poole,…

Howth RNLI Community Safety Team promote water safety at the Ireland Angling 2020 exhibition in Swords

17th February 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Members of Howth RNLI’s Community Safety Team were on hand to promote and offer water safety advice at the Ireland Angling 2020 exhibition at the National Show Centre in Swords last weekend The charity that saves lives at sea has…

Youghal RNLI Assist Fishing Boat Aground at Ferry Point in Stormy Conditions

11th February 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

The volunteer crew of Youghal RNLI were paged yesterday at 4.57 pm to reports of a fishing vessel with one person onboard aground on the rocks at the northern end of Ferry Point. Launching in force 8 North Westerly winds…

The fishing vessel Polaris, which suffered hull failure off the west coast of the Isle of Man last November

Fishing Crews Urged To Avail Of Safety Training After Dramatic Irish Sea Rescue

6th February 2020 Fishing

RNLI fishing safety manager Frankie Horne has urged the fishing community to avail of safety training that is on offer for their crews and to ensure that their safety equipment is up to date. It comes after the skipper of…

Larne RNLI’s crew sets up an alongside tow for the casualty boat

Larne Lifeboat Assists Broken Down Motor Boat Near Ballygally

4th February 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Larne RNLI’s volunteers diverted from their crew assessments on Sunday morning (2 February) to assist a person on a nine-metre motor boat which had broken down near Ballygally in Co Antrim. Launching at around 10.15am into a calm sea, the…

The scene at Portumna during the rescue of three people from a motorboat

Lough Derg RNLI Assists Three on an 18ft Motor Boat at Portumna

4th February 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Lough Derg RNLI was requested to launch on Sunday afternoon (2 February), by Valentia Coast Guard to reports of three people in difficulty on an 18ft motorboat in Portumna, at the northern end of Lough Derg. At 3.49 pm, the…

Country star Robert Mizzell will play the RNLI dance at the Allingham Arms next Friday 31 January

Country Music Stars Set For Annual Bundoran Lifeboat Dance

22nd January 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Country music stars Robert Mizzell and Kieran McAree are set to perform at the annual Bundoran RNLI Lifeboat Dance next Friday 31 January. The dance, held this year at the Allingham Arms Hotel in Bundoran, is the flagship fundraising event…

The RIB being towed to the safety of Carrickfergus by Larne RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat

Larne Lifeboat Assists Three On RIB With Engine Problems

20th January 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Larne RNLI launched at 3.50pm on Saturday (18 January) to assist a RIB which had lost engine power half a mile south of Muck Island. The volunteer crew were requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard to the nine-metre RIB with…

The lifeboat crew from Castletownbere who are to receive RNLI Gallantry Awards for a rescue. L – R: Lifeboat crewmember John Paul Downey, Lifeboat Mechanic Martin O’Donoghue, Coxswain Dean Hegarty, Lifeboat crewmember Dave Fenton and Lifeboat crewmember Seamus Harrington

RNLI to Honour Cork Lifeboat Crew with Gallantry Award for Dramatic Rescue That Saved Six Lives

17th January 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat crew are to be honoured by the charity for a dramatic rescue of a fishing crew that took place in challenging conditions and resulted in the lives of six fishermen being saved. Coxswain Dean Hegarty is to…

Photographer Jack Lowe with his more-than-a-century-old camera alongside Castletownbere RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Annette Hutton

Five Years In And ‘Lifeboat Station Project’ Is Getting Closer To Completion

13th January 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Five years into his remarkable and challenging project to photograph all RNLI lifeboat station in the UK and Ireland with a Victorian-era camera, Jack Lowe has visited 147 stations and met more than 2,000 volunteers. And it’s not over yet,…

Graham Fitzgerald, coxswain Nick Keogh and Peter Byrne at the Wicklow RNLI New Year’s Day Annual Service of Remembrance

Wicklow RNLI Holds Annual New Year’s Service Of Remembrance

6th January 2020 RNLI Lifeboats

Wicklow RNLI held its annual Service of Remembrance on New Year’s Day (Wednesday 1 January) in memory of all deceased lifeboat volunteer members, sailors from the town and all those associated with the sea from Wicklow. The ceremony began with…

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Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

Which is Ireland's busiest lifeboat station?

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Do the RNLI get paid?

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

How many RNLI Lifeboat stations in Ireland?

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

How many lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions?

How many people are rescued by the RNLI?

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

What type of boats does the RNLI have?

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

How are lifeboats called out?

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

What is the relationship between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI in Ireland?

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

What is a coxswain?

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

What training do RNLI lifeboat crews get?

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset