I have been at many naming and launching ceremonies but never before had the honour of being invited to perform a naming ceremony. The spirit of friendship, of commitment to helping others, which is the hallmark of the RNLI, made it a very pleasant occasion.
Kilrush has a strong maritime tradition, Steamers operated from there in the 19th century, towing lighters carrying cattle and other goods upriver to Limerick. A fleet of sailing boats, known as turf barges also carried various goods and vast amounts of turf to the Treaty City. Cappa, nearby, provided the pilot station for vessels entering the Shannon Estuary from the sea. The Royal Western Yacht Club was established in Kilrush in 1828.
The town is the base of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. Whale and dolphin watching is one of the boating attractions of Kilrush.
In recent years a marina built at Kilrush caused major controversy when it over-ran its budget.
"The manner in which the marina project was carried out may have justified criticism, but there was a predictability about it, coming from the national media, from political circles, from urbanites in Dublin and elsewhere who have no understanding of coastal areas," one of the men who campaigned for and defended the marina project, told me. "There are people who don't want the coastal areas to be better than urban centres, who don't want the rural areas to be more attractive than the urban jungles. There are benefits from maritime development, the marina is justifying itself, the yacht club has been revived, young people are taking up water sports, the leisure sector brings money into the town, the boat trips attract tourists."
Kilrush lifeboat station was established in 1996 to provide additional cover on the west coast, particularly on the Shannon Estuary. The boathouse and launching slipway were built facing Scattery Island, with access to the deepwater channel, providing housing for the lifeboat and launching vehicle, a workshop, fuel store and crew facilities.
The new boat is named Edith Louise Eastwick, in memory of the mother of the late Baroness Marjorie Von Schlippenbach. It was built at a cost of €185,000 and has a number of improvements from the Atlantic 75, Kilrush's former lifeboat, including a faster top speed of 35 knots, radar, provision for a fourth crew member and more space for survivors. It can operate safely in daylight in up to force seven conditions and at night up to force six. There is no greater gift that anybody can give than that of saving life.
I was told once by a lifeboat man that the gift they get is to see somebody safely ashore after they have rescued them. Isn't it the greatest gift lifeboat people give, saving someone else's life?
