#RNLI - Alex Ellis-Roswell recently walked into Mayo without any fanfare but with the sole aim to continue his marathon walk to raise funds for the RNLI, a charity close to his heart.

The 23-year-old Kent native is well on his way to smashing a £20,000 (€25,000) fundraising target which will see vital funds raised for the lifeboats.

When he set out 649 days ago, Ellis-Roswell planned to walk along the British coastline only, but he changed his mind and boarded a ferry to Belfast last year to add the beautiful Irish coastline to his journey.

When he finishes he will have walked the entire length of the Irish and UK coasts.

Ellis-Roswell has had many adventures along the way with strangers opening their doors to him and providing food and company for him along the way. Their kindness has seen him almost reach his target, which he now plans to exceed.

The weather had not been kind along the way, and he has pitched his tent in some stunning but remote places with the wind and the rain beating down on him. He has also battled with the toll the epic walk has taken on both his knees.

Starting his walk in Ireland at Belfast last year, he came down along the east coast before rounding the southern coastline and trekking along the Cork and Kerry peninsulas, clocking up hundreds of kilometres.

He has now crossed the border into Mayo and the sun has come out to match the hospitality of the locals to make it a special stop on his journey. Two important places for him to call in to visit have been the Achill and Ballyglass RNLI lifeboat stations, where he was made feel very welcome.

Commenting on the incredible fundraising initiative when Ellis-Roswell stopped by to visit the lifeboat crew and fundraisers with Ballyglass RNLI, the station’s volunteer lifeboat press officer Agatha Hunt said: "We were honoured to welcome Alex to our door and to hear about his adventures so far. It is incredible to think that a young man from across the water would do this for a charity which is very close to all of us here.

"Every lifeboat station and volunteer shares a common goal to save lives and help those in difficulty but it is very touching to see someone so young doing this to help in our work. I know his father, who also had great affection, for the RNLI would have been very proud of him."

Huge thanks are also due to the Broadhaven Bay Hotel, Léim Siar B&B Blacksod, Western Strand Hotel and the Kilcummin Lodge B&B who supported the young man in his walk by providing accommodation during his visit.

If people wish donate to Alex Ellis-Roswell they can do so via his online fundraising page. He is also cataloguing his journey on social media and can be followed on Facebook or Twitter.

#RNLI - Irish country music sensation Nathan Carter is set to headline the inaugural Waves Music Festival on Sunday 28 August 2016 at Loftus Hall in the historic coastal area of Hook Head.

The family-themed day-long music event is being run in aid of the Fethard RNLI fundraising appeal, which is set to raise €65,000 needed for a new inshore lifeboat due to be placed on service in Fethard at the end of 2017.

Performing alongside Nathan Carter will be home-grown group Corner Boy and new to the Irish music scene, Wexford’s own Elmore.

A further act is set to be announced in the next few weeks which will be cause a great deal of excitement among the teenage audience, ensuring that the day appeals to all the family.

RNLI in conjunction with Beat will be providing the opportunity for one lucky artists within the south east to perform live and kick off the festival on the Sunday.

Momentum Events have joint forces with the Fethard RNLI fundraising team and will create a dedicated family kids area within one of the walled gardens. This will allow a secure play area for the full family to enjoy.

Loftus Hall proprietor Aidan Quigley said: "Loftus Hall is delighted to support the RNLI and offer our unique and unusual venue for the event. This year Loftus Hall celebrates its 666th anniversary."

Fethard RNLI volunteer lifeboat press officer Rebecca Doyle also commented: "The Waves Music Festival is the first music festival the RNLI have undertaken in the South East and it is a huge privilege for us to be given this opportunity.

"The event has a capacity of up to 5,000 people and a purpose built event site will be created at Loftus Hall for the occasion, creating a picnic style theme for the summer event.

"We are particularly thrilled to have an artist of the calibre of Nathan Carter play the festival. Nathan has a huge following in Ireland and his shows have been packing out venues across the country.

"We hope that people locally will support this great event and that we will welcome many visitors to the area on the day. While loads of fun will be had, this festival has its roots in a great cause and that is saving lives at sea and supporting the work of the charity on the South East coast."

Gates open at 11am and the concert finishes at 8pm. Tickets for the daylong event are €25 each with €85 for a family of four. For more information visit www.wavesfestival.ie.

#RNLI - Kilmore Quay RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crew were alerted at 1.43am yesterday morning (Thursday 19 May) to reports of an injured fisherman 40 miles offshore.

The injured crewman was on board a 20m stern trawler fishing for prawns at the Smalls fishing grounds south-southeast of Kilmore Quay. He had fallen and was in chronic pain suffering with a suspected dislocated shoulder.

The all-weather lifeboat departed a short time later with weather conditions described as good with a slight swell from the Southwest and clear visibility, enabling the lifeboat make 25 knots towards the casualty.

With the fishing vessel making seven knots towards the lifeboat, they rendezvoused at 3:30am. The fair conditions made for a quick transfer of the injured crewman to the lifeboat and once on board the lifeboat he was made comfortable.

The journey back to Kilmore Quay took just under 90 minutes and on return the injured man was handed over to paramedics for transfer to Wexford General Hospital and treatment to his injuries.

#RNLI - Kilkeel RNLI helped bring a fisherman to safety yesterday evening (Tuesday 17 May) after he was injured while fishing for prawns off the Co Down coast.

The volunteer lifeboat crew was alerted at 4.50pm and requested by Belfast Coastguard to go to the aid of an injured man on a 68ft fishing trawler in Dundalk Bay.

The inshore lifeboat, helmed by Alan Henning and with three crew members onboard, launched within minutes and made its way to the scene some six nautical miles from the lifeboat station.

Weather conditions at the time were described as wet with a lot of rain and a 1.5m swell.

Once on scene, lifeboat crew member Andrew McConnell was transferred from the lifeboat on to the fishing vessel, where he assessed the casualty and ensured he was wearing a sea survival suit before being moved from the trawler.

The injured man was made comfortable before he was strapped and lowered down into the lifeboat where he was then transported back to Kilkeel and handed over into the care of a waiting ambulance.

Speaking following the callout, Kilkeel RNLI lifeboat operations manager John Fisher said: "There wasn’t enough water in the harbour yesterday afternoon to allow the fishing trawler make its way into Kilkeel so we were happy to assist.

"We would like to wish the injured man a full and speedy recovery from his ordeal."

#RNLI - Skerries RNLI responded Sunday evening (15 May) to reports of a personal water craft in distress off the Martello tower in Loughshinny.

Dublin Coast Guard tasked Skerries RNLI just after 6pm having receiving a 999 call about a person on a personal water craft who appeared to be signalling for help.

The location was given as being in line with the Martello tower situated on a headland near Loughshinny Harbour.

The lifeboat was launched with volunteer Eoin Grimes at the helm and crewed by Emma Wilson, Steven Johnson and AJ Hughes.

Arriving on scene, the crew quickly located the casualty, a 17-year-old whose personal watercraft had encountered mechanical difficulties and was drifting.

The teenager was taken on board the lifeboat and his vessel was taken under tow. He was returned to Portmarnock beach where he had friends waiting to offer assistance. The lifeboat then returned to station.

Speaking after the callout, Skerries RNLI lifeboat operations manager Niall McGrotty said: "With the good weather meaning more people are taking to the sea, we would like to remind people that it is advisable to have their vessels fully serviced after the winter and to always carry a means of contacting the shore."

Howth RNLI launched at 3.45pm yesterday to reports of a fisherman in need of medical attention on a fishing boat 20 miles north of Lambay Island.

The casualty was removed from the fishing vessel and brought back to Howth to a waiting ambulance and transferred to hospital for treatment.

The request to launch came at 3.30pm and the Howth RNLI all-weather lifeboat proceeded 20 miles north of Howth and located the fishing trawler with the male casualty aboard. The Coast Guard helicopter was on scene to assist if necessary.

Weather was excellent with hazy sunshine and good visibility. The sea state was calm with little or no wind present.

Howth RNLI volunteers David Howard and Joss Walsh transferred to the fishing vessel to assess the casualty. It was decided to remove the fisherman to the lifeboat and return to Howth where an ambulance was waiting to take the casualty to Beaumont hospital.

Speaking following the call out, Ian Sheridan, Howth RNLI Second Duty Coxswain said: ‘Weather conditions certainly helped in the success of this operation today. We were pleased that our volunteer lifeboat crew’s training allowed us to very quickly locate and board the casualty vessel and take the fisherman back to Howth Marina and to an awaiting ambulance.’

Fethard RNLI has assisted two people onboard a pleasure craft which got into difficulty off the Wexford coast this afternoon (Sunday 15 May).

The volunteer crew launched their inshore lifeboat at 3.40pm following a request from Waterford River Rescue which reported that a 21ft Bayliner pleasure craft with two people onboard had got into difficulty.

The vessel had sustained engine failure at Creadan Head, some three miles upriver from Dunmore East.

The D Class lifeboat helmed by Thomas Stafford launched at Duncannon and made its way to the scene.

Weather conditions at the time were described as good with a fresh south westerly on shore breeze.

A local fishing vessel aided the operation by providing the lifeboat crew with the exact location of where the pleasure craft was.

Once on scene, the lifeboat crew observed that no one was in any immediate danger and began to establish a tow line.

Fethard RNLI proceeded to bring the vessel one mile up stream where the crew then handed the tow over to Waterford River Rescue who brought the vessel safely back to Waterford.

Speaking following the call out, Thomas Walter, Fethard RNLI Helm said: ‘Today’s call out was an example of good team working between ourselves and our colleagues in Waterford River Rescue. We were delighted to assist and wish the two sailors well.’

#RNLI - If ever the importance of a constant state of readiness was underlined then a single 24-hour period, this week has been a reminder of this for the volunteer lifeboat crew at Achill RNLI.

The first of three callouts came on Wednesday night (11 May) at around 10.30pm when the station’s all-weather lifeboat Sam and Ada Moody was requested to launch by the Irish Coast Guard to support the evacuation of an elderly patient from Inishturk Island, who was transferred to hospital by coastguard helicopter.

On Thursday afternoon (12 May) at 5.15pm, the lifeboat was called on again, this time to locate and rescue a small cabin boat that encountered engine failure about a mile and a half west of Dooega Head.

The distressed boat, which was crewed by four people, had to be located and then towed to Purteen Harbour, where it was brought safely ashore by a D-class inshore boat from Achill Coast Guard. Excellent weather conditions were a help to the smoothness of the recovery.

Finally, on Thursday evening a local doctor requested the assistance of Achill RNLI to take a patient from Clare Island into Cloughmore, where the patient was transferred by ambulance to hospital.

Speaking following their busy 24 hours, Achill RNLI coxswain Dave Curtis said: :Our volunteers are always on call and ready to respond when needed and we were delighted to be of assistance.

"The response to each call out demonstrated good team work with our colleagues in the coastguard, while the rescue of the cabin boat was a good example of our RNLI training paying off. We would like to wish the patients a speedy recovery."

 An off-duty RNLI lifeguard has rescued a teenage boy this afternoon after he got into difficulty when bodyboarding in Portrush.

Conard McCullagh, a Senior RNLI Lifeguard on the Causeway Coast was cycling from Portstewart where he had been attending the North West 200 race paddock when at approximately 2pm he observed two teenagers on bodyboards in the water at Portrush West Strand.

Knowing the beach and the dangers of the water at Black Rocks, an area prone to rip currents, Conrad immediately sensed that the teenagers may get into difficulty and went to their parents who were on the shore. Conrad felt the teenagers were too far out in the water and advised their parents to wave them back in.

One of the teenagers, a 15-year-old girl managed to paddle her way in but the 13-year old boy struggled and indicated that he couldn’t get back in as the water was sucking him out fast.

Conrad immediately ran to the RNLI Beach Lifeguard Unit and grabbed a rescue board and went to the casualty and pulled him out of the water.

Once he had the teenage boy safely ashore, Conrad carried out casualty care checks to ensure the boy was ok.

Speaking following the rescue, Karl O’Neill, RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor said: ‘I would like to commend Conrad who wasn’t on duty this afternoon but used his RNLI skills and training to remain vigilant, spot the danger and go straight to the family when he suspected the teenagers may be in trouble.

‘This rescue serves as a reminder to us all that while we may be experiencing some good weather we still need to respect the water. It is a sunny warm day and the water appears calm and everything looks good on the surface but the reality is there is a lot going on underneath and the water can be very dangerous. The current the boy was bodyboarding in was simply too strong to paddle against. Thankfully, Conrad was able to go to the boy’s assistance today and we would like to wish him well following what must have been a frightening experience for him.’

RNLI lifeguards are on patrol from 11am-7pm at weekends on Benone Strand, Portrush West and East Strands, Whiterocks and Portstewart. They will take up full time daily patrol for the Summer on Saturday 25 June.

The RNLI’s advice for anyone planning a trip to the beach is to respect the water, check weather and tide times before you go and if planning to go into the water, swim at a lifeguarded beach, between the red and yellow flags. Avoid using inflatables in strong winds or rough seas.

If you get into trouble, stick your hand in the air and shout for help and if you see someone else in trouble, tell a lifeguard. If you can’t see a lifeguard, call 909 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.

Skerries RNLI responded this afternoont to reports of swimmers in difficulty off a local swimming area known as The Springers.

The pagers sounded shortly before midday after Dublin Coast Guard received reports that a number of swimmers were caught in a rip current and were unable to get back to shore.

Skerries RNLI volunteers launched the lifeboat with David Knight at the Helm and crewed by Philip Ferguson, Emma Wilson and AJ Hughes.

Arriving on scene the crew discovered that there were four casualties in the water spread over a large area in between Red Island headland and Colt Island. The lifeboat quickly began recovering the casualties into the lifeboat.

With a large sea swell running and the casualties suffering from fatigue and early symptoms of hypothermia, it was necessary for one of the Skerries RNLI volunteers, Philip Ferguson to enter the water to assist them in getting on board.

Once all the casualties were on board the lifeboat returned to the station and recovered immediately to the warmth of the boathouse. Once inside the boathouse the casualties were assessed, monitored and treated for mild hypothermia but were all fit and well leaving the station.

Skerries Coast Guard unit and the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 were also tasked. The helicopter stood by while the lifeboat recovered the casualties from the water.

Speaking after the call out, Gerry Canning, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for Skerries RNLI said: ‘Rip currents are a major cause of accidental drowning on beaches across the world. Even if you know an area well, the currents may change based on the weather and tides. The speed of response is crucial in cases like this and our volunteers did an excellent job in getting there as safely and quickly as possible. ’