On Sunday 5 February, RNLI volunteers past and present will gather at Skerries lifeboat station in north Co Dublin to lay a wreath at sea and remember six of their colleagues who were lost while on a service in 1873.

On 2 February that that year, the lifeboat from Skerries was capsized while proceeding to the assistance of the schooner Sarah of Runcorn which had got into difficulty off Balbriggan.

Six of the men on the lifeboat were drowned: Patrick Reid, James Kelly, William Fitzpatrick, Joseph Halpin, Richard Cochrane, Albert Fanning.

Speaking about the tragedy, Skerries RNLI chair and local historian Sam Shiels said: “At about 8.45pm, in the pitch dark, it was a very stormy night with snow and heavy winds, when the Skerries Lifeboat and coastguard got the call.

“The lifeboat crew went to the aid of Sarah of Runcorn under sail but as they got close to the listing ship, they pulled in their sails and started to row. So rough was it, that the oars of the lifeboat crew were wrenched from their hands.

“Over the next few hours the crews of both Skerries Lifeboat and Coastguard fought admirably to save the crew. Unfortunately, such was the storm, the heavy seas, that six souls were lost that night.

“Today we honour those souls and the legacy they left behind; 150 years later, the spirit of the volunteers who put to sea to save others is still strong.”

The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 12.30pm on Sunday 2 February at Skerries lifeboat station.