A group of three Irish friends have joined together to write and produce a song honouring lifeboat volunteers throughout the RNLI, which they hope will raise vital funds and awareness of the work carried out by the charity that saves lives at sea.
Eamon O’Brien, Bill Shanley and Ed Jackson, known collectively as The Islands Project, wrote “The Shout” after being inspired seeing the work of lifeboat volunteers at home in Ireland and in the UK.
For Eamon O’Brien, originally from Cork but now living in Dublin, songwriting started as a pandemic project which quickly took hold and became a passion. He started writing lyrics in 2020 and when he met with Ed Jackson, sailing on the Shannon, he already had the idea for a song about the work of the RNLI.
Ed, a part-time musician from Mayo living in Dublin, and Eamon took their idea to well-known guitarist and music producer Bill Shanley of Cauldron Music, whose father was a friend of Eamon’s, and between the three of them, the lifeboat song “The Shout” was born.
Taking its inspiration from the term the lifeboat volunteers use for a search-and-rescue call-out, “The Shout” takes the listener on a journey around Ireland and the UK, name-checking many of the institutions’ lifeboat stations including Dun Laoghaire and Castletownbere in Ireland and Cowes, Cromer, Llandudno and Stornoway across the water.
The group launched the song at Dun Laoghaire lifeboat station in Dublin, which is not far from where Eamon lives. The lifeboat volunteers were due to go on their weekly training exercise and showed the group around the busy station. The crew were then presented with CD copies of the single before giving their seal of approval to the song.
Commenting on the project and his hopes for it, Eamon O’Brien said: “This has been a real labour of love. We are all involved with the water in some way, either through where we live or taking part in water-based activities. You see lifeboats in the water and you know they are there to go out when others are seeking shelter and returning to shore.
“The work the volunteers do is incredible and it is replicated at over 200 lifeboat stations throughout Ireland and the UK. Each man and woman is trained to the highest standard and is responsible for saving lives in some of the most challenging conditions.
“Conscious of the fact that 2024 is the 200th anniversary of the RNLI lifeboat service, I would love people who listen to this song to think about the incredible service the RNLI provides and consider donating to the charity to support their work.”
Speaking at the launch of the single, Dun Laoghaire RNLI coxswain Mark McGibney added: “We were delighted to welcome the group to our station to mark the release of ‘The Shout’. You can walk into any lifeboat station and the kit and the training is exactly the same. I’m very proud of our crew here, who give up so much of their time and never fail to turn up when the pagers go off. But it wouldn’t be possible without the support we get from the public and from our fundraisers.
“I hope that the song gives people a little bit of an insight into the work we do and that it helps raise some funds for the charity. Thank you so much to Eamon, Bill and Ed for writing this song — we hope everyone enjoys it.”
“The Shout” is available on all major music streaming platforms.
