RNLI trustee and Red Bay lifeboat coxswain Paddy McLaughlin has been presented with the Lifesaving Foundation’s Ireland Medal in recognition of his outstanding work in saving lives from drowning.

The medal was presented by Commodore Micheal Malone, Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service, during a ceremony held at South-East Technological University in Waterford city, which was attended by major figures in the field of drowning prevention study.

The Ireland Medal is awarded each year to an individual or organisation that has made a significant contribution to saving lives from drowning.

This specially commissioned medal was introduced in 2003 and past awardees include the Naval Service, Professor Michael Tipton and Dr Paddy Morgan. The award was made to an RNLI representative during the charity’s bicentenary year.

Paddy McLaughlin has been a volunteer with the charity since 1981, when he joined his local lifeboat station in Cushendal, Co Antrim in Northern Ireland.

A coxswain on the station’s Trent class lifeboat, he has also served as both a helm and crew on the station’s inshore lifeboats, which have included the D-class, C-class, Atlantic 21, Atlantic 75 and the present-day Atlantic 85.

Paddy became a member of the RNLI’s Ireland Council in 2012 and the RNLI’s Council in 2014. He is currently the deputy chair of the Irish Council and has been a member of the RNLI’s People Committee since 2019. In 2020, Paddy joined the charity’s Board of Trustees.

Commodore Micheal Malone of the Naval Service (front row, second from left) and Paddy McLaughlin (first from right) with other guests and dignitaries at the Lifesaving Foundation’s awards ceremony at SETU recently | Credit: George Goulding/SETU

As an active member of his local community, Paddy is an advocate for partnerships and local enterprise. He was the architect of the RNLI’s hugely successful partnership with the GAA, one of Ireland’s largest sports organisations, which for the last seven years has seen both organisations working alongside each other across Ireland and the UK, with the shared goal of saving lives from drowning.

On receiving his award, Paddy paid tribute to the many people who have volunteered for the charity over the last 200 years and made a plea for organisations to continue to work together to end drowning.

“This award is a huge honour for me and I am humbled to receive it on behalf of the thousands of RNLI volunteers who have given their time, their commitment and their passion, to saving lives and preventing drowning over the last two centuries,” Paddy said.

“Whether through my lifeboat role at my station in Co Antrim on the North Coast of Ireland, as a trustee for the charity or being involved in incredible partnerships, I am grateful to have had so many opportunities to work alongside the best people and to see the difference the charity has made and continues to make in so many people’s lives.

“I hope the RNLI will continue to work through partnerships and engagement with the many groups and organisations who seek to end drowning at home and globally.”

Also attending the ceremony was RNLI’s head of water safety Gareth Morrison, who added: “I have worked with Paddy on many projects for the RNLI, including the GAA partnership, and it is fitting that he has been recognised for his many years of service and outstanding work.

“This prestigious award, which has been given to so many leaders and organisations in the field of drowning prevention, is an acknowledgement of the power of our people to bring about significant change and help others. To receive this award in the charity’s 200th year is a great honour and Paddy is a worthy recipient.”

Lifeboat crew with Red Bay RNLI put their first aid training into practice this afternoon when a man collapsed while out walking in Boulder Field at Fair Head in County Antrim.  The two lifeboat crew had to scale 150 feet of rocky headland to reach the two men who had been out walking and to administer first aid to the casualty.

Red Bay RNLI lifeboat was launched at 3.55pm to the incident and on arrival at the scene the lifeboat crew were able to locate the two men among the rocks. Two lifeboat volunteers left the lifeboat with first aid equipment to give assistance to the casualty.  However to reach the men they had to climb 150 feet up the rocky terrain.   The Royal Navy helicopter Rescue 177 from Prestwick arrived a short time later with a paramedic and was able to stabilise the casualty and winch both him and the other man aboard and bring them both to Coleraine Hospital.

Commenting on the callout Red Bay RNLI lifeboat helm Paddy McLaughlin said, " Thankfully we are very familiar with this area and two of our lifeboat crew were able to use their first aid training and go to the assistance of the casualty.  This is not an easy area to access and the two men had been out walking since breakfast."

Last August Red Bay RNLI lifeboat crew brought a brother and sister to safety when they got into difficulty among the rocks at Fair Head.

Additional report from HM Coastguard

TWO MEN STUCK ON CLIFF AT FAIR HEAD
At 3.50 pm this afternoon, Coleraine Police were in touch with Belfast Coastguard earlier this afternoon to inform them about two men stuck on a  cliff at Fair Head in Northern Ireland.

Both were wearing high visibility jackets whilst one man is aged 46, the other 52. The first informant, the younger man, suggested that the elder of the two men was in a state of collapse with vertigo and needed urgent attention.

The Ballycastle Coastguard Rescue Team were immediately turned out along with the Red Bay RNLI inshore lifeboat. A rescue helicopter – R177 – from Prestwick was also scrambled.

The position of the two men was given as near Murlough Cottage Caravan Park and that they were halfway up the rocks.

The weather was cold with high and clear skies at the time. When rescue units arrived on scene the two men could be seen wearing warm jackets and spotted halfway between the cliff base at Fair Head and the shore in heather and rocks. They were in a sheltered position.

By 4.30 two RNLI lifeboat crew had come ashore and made contact with the two and was administered first aid to the older man, and by 5.15 both casualties had been taken in to the helicopter, one by stretcher, and were transferred to Coleraine hospital.

The hospital landing site was also manned by the Coleraine Coastguard Team to assist in a quick transferal of the casualties into A&E.

Belfast Coastguard Watch Manager Steve Carson said

"We understand that the two men were out for a walk and became disorientated. Fortunately one of them had a phone on him and was able to get a signal to alert the emergency services.

"Do please check the weather before you set out and make sure you have sufficient supplies if planning an extended trip. For any emergencies on the cliffs, rocks beaches and seas around the Northern Ireland coastline please dial 999 and call the Coastguard."

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