Lough Derg RNLI’s volunteers have thanked Catherine Gleeson who is retiring after five years as the station’s deputy launching authority.
Following their February monthly meeting recently, volunteers at Lough Derg held a party for Catherine, a lawyer by profession, who said that she was sad to be leaving.
She added that it had been a “great honour to volunteer at the station for the past five years”, that she was “in awe of the dedication of the crew” and has “enormous respect for your bravery out on a shout”.
Catherine said it was a “unique privilege when on duty to monitor and log the radio communications between the crew, the coastguard and casualty vessels”.
Christine O’Malley, lifeboat operations manager (LOM) at Lough Derg RNLI said that both she and Catherine joined the lifeboat operations team at the same time. Christine said she valued Catherine as a friend and fellow volunteer who offered sage advice as Christine took up the role of LOM at the station.
On behalf of the crew and operations team, helm Eleanor Hooker presented Catherine with the gift of an oil painting by Tipperary artist Áine Quinlan.
Eleanor thanked Catherine for all her hard work on behalf of the volunteers, her positivity and her brilliant sense of humour. On more than one occasion Catherine had stayed on at the station with Eleanor while she wrote up her press release following a rescue.
Catherine will be missed as a valuable member of the station, Lough Derg RNLI says.
