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RNLI Lifeboat News From Ireland
Vessels Rescued from Rocks
Lough Deg RNLI lifeboat with helm Eleanor Hooker, Robbie Garland and Colin Knight on board, launched on Monday 14 September at 20.00hrs. The air was calm and it was dusk. The lifeboat located the vessels, which had been travelling together,…
Man Stuck in the Mud
On the far side of the Irish Sea Swansea Coastguard received a 999 call from a member of the Mumbles Yacht Club in Wales. He reported seeing a man stuck in the mud approximately fifty metres off the Antelope slip…
Motor launch sinks off Cork Harbour
A lone sailor was plucked to safety yesterrday evening moments before his 36' motor launch sank off Roberts Cove, Southwest of Cork Harbour by Crosshaven RNLI Lifeboat. The Lifeboat launched at 19.29 with Volunteer RNLI crew of Kieran Coniry, Con…
Hoax call sparks large search in Irish Sea
At five minutes to four yesterday afternoon Milford Haven Coastguard received a call from Ambulance Control informing them that they had received a 999 call from a young person reporting that they were on board a small vessel in difficulty…
Coastguard assists Kayakers in Irish Sea
At just before 1.00 pm on Sunday, a 999 call from the Towy Boat Club reported three kayakers struggling in the fast-flowing river Towy having capsized and become parted from their double sit-on kayaks in wind over tide conditions. It…
Lifeboats launch to Dromineer Bay
Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat launched at 12:30hrs yesterday (September 3rd) following a request from Valentia Coast Guard to assist two persons on board a yacht aground in Dromineer Bay, and two persons on board a cruiser who were in also…
RNLI memorial pays tribute to lost Irish lifesavers
Flags at RNLI lifeboat stations have been lowered today (Thursday 3 September) as a unique memorial, dedicated to those who lost their lives while helping to save others at sea, is unveiled outside the Lifeboat college in Dorset. Of the…
Man and three children rescued after being cut off by the tide
At five minutes to three this afternoon, Swansea Coastguard received a 999 call from the car park attendant at Nash Point lighthouse on the Irish Sea reporting that a group consisting of one man and three children had not returned…
RNLI Benefit Night at Poolbeg Y&BC
Hosted by Betty Boop (John Alvey, Clodagh Whelan, Mark Alvey and James Ryan), who had to be towed 50 miles by the Dunmore East Lifeboat after their rudder broke off on the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race, Poolbeg Yacht &…
Yacht towed to safety at Ballycotton harbour
A yacht with three people on board has been towed to safety off the south-west coast after getting into difficulty earlier today (13th August 2009). Ballycotton Lifeboat and a Waterford-based Coast Guard helicopter were launched to locate and assist the…
Lifeboat Sea Safety Roadshow visits Clifden
If you have a lifejacket (or lifejackets) why not bring it (or them) along to the Lifeboat Sea Safety Roadshow on Sunday 16th August at the square in Clifden? You can get a free condition check of any lifejacket and…
Lifeboat tows plane wreckage
The Rosslare RNLI lifeboat crew towed the wreckage of a light aircraft into Carne tonight (Tuesday 11 August) after it crashed into the sea, at around 5pm this evening, near Tuskar rock, Wexford. Both Rosslare and Kilmore Quay all weather…
No flares, no lifejackets, what's new?
At ten minutes to five this evening, Holyhead Coastguard were alerted to three people who had launched a 12 foot white speedboat with a red stripe called ‘Ring 15’ into Bull Bay around an hour previously and had not returned.…
Hoax call at New Quay, Wales
Milford Haven Coastguard launched a major search for two anglers in the early hours of Saturday morning but it was discovered to be a hoax.  As the search continued it became clear that the boat was not in the location…
Boys saved from Castlerock Caves
Two boys aged 13 and 14 were rescued last night (Wednesday 5th August) after becoming stuck in a cave near Castlerock, Co. Londonderry, reports the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency. Coast Guard Rescue Teams from Castlerock and Ballycastle worked alongside…
Irish Coast Guard rescue off Howth Head
A small powerboat capsized on Dublin Bay on the morning of 3rd August, leaving two people to be winched to safety twenty minutes after the incident by the Irish Coast Guard helicopter. The two had a lucky escape after issuing…

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.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

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

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.

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

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

 

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

© Afloat 2020