Volunteer lifeboat crew from Courtmacsherry and Ballycotton RNLI, along with members of Barryroe GAA are featuring in a short film to promote a drowning prevention partnership between the RNLI and the GAA. The two organisations have been working together on a water safety partnership since 2017, which has seen RNLI volunteers visit their local GAA clubs to share water safety advice and information. The film has been released in advance of the RNLI’s appearance on the pitch at Croke Park to promote the partnership, at the upcoming All-Ireland Senior Hurling semi-final this Sunday (3 July) between Limerick and Galway.
The one-minute film was made to promote the partnership between the RNLI and the GAA and shows how both organisations share the same values of community and volunteerism. Many RNLI volunteers are also GAA volunteers, and the aim of the partnership has been to share water safety advice as widely as possible in all communities. The film was made on location at Courtmacsherry lifeboat station and Barryroe GAA club by Banjoman Productions. It shows a lifeboat training exercise and a water safety talk to a room of school children. While over at the GAA club, players take to the pitch and warm up for a match. It shows the importance of the many different roles the volunteers hold.
The film will be shown on the big screen in Croke Park before the semi-final on Sunday and will be shared with lifeboat stations, branches, and clubs. There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with 333 GAA clubs within a 10km radius of them. On average 111 people drown in Ireland each year and the work being done through the partnership aims to give everyone the knowledge of what they can do to both keep safe or help someone in trouble on the water.
One of the volunteers to feature in the film is Vincent O’Donovan, Courtmacsherry RNLI Deputy Launching Authority. A volunteer in both the RNLI and the GAA, Vincent hopes that the film will encourage more people to get involved in their community and think about water safety. Vincent said, ‘I’m very proud to be involved in the film and that it shows what is good about volunteering and local communities. Many of us in our local RNLI are also involved with the GAA, they go together and it’s a wonderful partnership. I hope people will want to get involved in their community and learn more about water safety.’
RNLI Trustee and Coxswain, Paddy McLaughlin has been involved with the partnership from the beginning and has seen it evolve over the last few years. Paddy said, ‘When we approached the GAA with the idea of working together to prevent drowning, they supported it straight way. Since 2017, RNLI volunteers have been giving hundreds of talks to GAA clubs and have been invited to events and match days to promote water safety. This is a lifesaving partnership and with so many people involved in the GAA on this island, we are getting water safety advice and awareness talked about in our communities.’
