RNLI Asks: 'Put your Best Foot Forward this May and Help Keep People Safe this Summer'

30th April 2023

Usually, it is the RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews that answers mayday calls – it’s the most serious call for help. But this May, they need your help. The charity is calling on the public to join the RNLI Mayday Mile to raise vital funds to power its lifesaving work towards keeping people safe this summer. Pictured launching the RNLI’s Mayday fundraiser are Clifden RNLI lifeboat crew from left, David O’Reilly, Joseph Acton, Gerry Claffey, James Mullen, John Mullen, David Barry and Andrew Bell Credit: Andrew Downes

With demand for its lifesaving services at a high, the RNLI is putting out its own Mayday call ahead of May Day (tomorrow, Monday, 1 May) as it prepares to face another busy summer.

Usually, it is the RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crews that answer mayday calls – it’s the most serious call for help. But this May, they need your help. The charity is calling on the public to join the RNLI Mayday Mile to help raise vital funds to power its lifesaving work and help keep people safe this summer.

Last year, lifeboats located at the RNLI’s 46 stations across the island of Ireland launched 1,061 times, with its crews carrying out hundreds of rescues.

It’s so easy to take part in the Mayday Mile and support the RNLI’s lifesavers. Simply complete your challenge each day, every day this May, wherever and however you like – walk, jog, hop or skip!

Funds raised through the Mayday Mile will help RNLI lifesavers have everything they need to keep families safe this summer. Warmer weather draws more people to the water, and RNLI lifeboat crews will drop whatever they’re doing when a call for help comes in.

Speaking ahead of the fundraiser, which starts tomorrow, Anna Classon, RNLI Head of Region in Ireland, says: ‘Summer is our busiest time of year with thousands of people at risk of getting into danger by the water. Ordinary people just enjoying days out with family or friends. Mayday is our own call for help as we rely on the generosity of the public to take part in events like the Mayday Mile and raise the funds that allow us to be there when we’re needed most. But we need to be ready. Training, kit, stations, fuel, these are just some of the things we need to save lives, and that your fundraising can help provide.’

James Mullen, a Coxswain at Clifden RNLI, added: ‘We are indebted to everyone taking on this fundraising challenge in May because we know it will make a difference. Whether you decide to walk, run, skip or swim, your fundraising efforts will ensure volunteer lifeboat crews like ours have all we need to launch our lifeboats to the rescue and be ready when the call comes in to help someone in need.’

The RNLI’s Mayday fundraiser begins tomorrow, Monday, 1 May and will run for the whole month.

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

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RNLI

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Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

Which is Ireland's busiest lifeboat station?

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Do the RNLI get paid?

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

How many RNLI Lifeboat stations in Ireland?

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

How many lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions?

How many people are rescued by the RNLI?

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

What type of boats does the RNLI have?

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

How are lifeboats called out?

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

What is the relationship between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI in Ireland?

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

What is a coxswain?

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

What training do RNLI lifeboat crews get?

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset

How can one support the RNLI?

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

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