#rnli – As the busy Summer season draws to an end, the RNLI volunteers at Dun Laoghaire will be holding their annual Open Day on Sunday 14th September where visitors can inspect boats, equipment, safety gear and much more.
Starting at 2pm, the main lifeboat station beside the Carlisle Pier will be open for tours of "Anna Livia" the All-Weather lifeboat, displays of personal protective equipment, free safety information and life-jacket clinic from the RNLI Sea Safety team and much more.
At the East Pier, the Inshore lifeboat 'Realt Na Mara' will be on display at the old boathouse beside Rogan's Slipway and visitors see this small but highly flexible rescue craft up close including the latest equipment that makes it the busiest class of lifeboat in the RNLI fleet.
Special guests will be visiting the RNLI station during the afternoon to demonstrate inter-agency co-operation and capabilities. The Irish Coast Guard Rescue helicopter from Dublin Airport will be on hand at 2pm while the Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team will also have a display at the lifeboat station. Members of the Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit will also be in attendance.
The RNLI lifeboat station Open Day is a family-oriented event suitable for most age-groups and souvenirs in support of the charitable work of the RNLI will be on sale in the station shop throughout the afternoon and is also open year-round.
The RNLI lifeboat station in Dun Laoghaire is one of 45 such operations in Ireland that are the primary boat responders for emergency incidents around the coast and form part of the resources available to the Irish Coast Guard service, the statutory organisation that co-ordinates Search & Rescue and pollution incidents in Irish waters.
There are 35 operational volunteers with the RNLI station in Dun Laoghaire that respond to emergency call-outs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year including Christmas Day and other holidays. Both lifeboats typically launch within 10 minutes of call-out and the station is regularly the busiest in Ireland.