The RNLI’s 2025 Christmas fundraising appeal continues, as its volunteer lifeboat crews prepare to spend their festive season on call.
Among those ready if the pager sounds is Portrush RNLI volunteer crew member Richard ‘Roo’ McCrudden, for whom the RNLI is a family affair.
Roo is on the lifeboat while mum Jan and granny Pat — at 92 years of age — are dedicated fundraisers for the charity.
RNLI crews in Northern Ireland including those at Portrush, Red Bay and Larne in Co Antrim are ready to leave their celebrations with friends and family to battle the elements and save lives on the water.
These rescues, and others all year round, are only made possible by the RNLI’s generous supporters, helping to fund the essential kit, training and equipment needed to keep crews prepared and protected.
Roo is one of many RNLI volunteers on call over Christmas. Passionate about the water from a young age and growing up in Whitehead, his parents realised that the family’s time spent in their caravan in Portrush was where their three boys were happiest, particularly on or near the water.
They made the decision to relocate to Portrush and the family never looked back. Roo signed up to volunteer for lifeboat crew, having to wait a couple of years as the pandemic happened. Once he joined, he never looked back.
Commenting on her son’s volunteering for the lifeboat, Jan McCrudden said: “I was an A&E nurse in the Royal Victoria and I’ve seen first hand the devastation that happens to families when they lose a loved one. I find it hard to put into words how proud we, his family, are of him. That he will go out and do those things for someone he doesn’t know says everything about him. Whenever I know the lifeboat is out, I always send him a little text, wishing him a safe return.
“My mum Pat is also a proud granny. She gets people to donate to the lifeboats by putting five-pence coins in the little jam pots and she’s raised thousands of pounds through this. She keeps all her neighbours up to date on the news from Portrush RNLI.”
Roo is a helm on the station’s inshore lifeboat and a navigator on the all-weather Severn class. This will be his fourth Christmas on call. Settled in Portrush, with wife Rachel and their dog Jax, he is a self-employed web developer. Living about a minute from the lifeboat station means he can drop everything when the pager goes off and make the shout.
As for where the name Roo came from, nobody is sure but his mum thinks it may be a childhood love for Winnie the Pooh, which became Roo.
Talking about why he loves his volunteering for the RNLI, Roo said: “The crew is a family and we have a close bond. I love the training and I love the casualty care side of it. Everyone has their strengths and we learn from each other. I honestly feel that when people might be having the worst day of their lives, if you can be there for them and help them, that’s pretty amazing.”
The Geraghty Children: from left, Kayley, Ryan — holding baby Croía — and Kyle, with Brandon behind | Credit: RNLI/Ballyglass
Elsewhere on the island of Ireland, in Belmullet, Co Mayo, a family of six comprises a mother and father who are fundraisers for Ballyglass RNLI and their four children are all on call for the lifeboat.
Margaret and Ricky Geraghty are parents to Ryan, Kyle, Brandon and Kayley. Margaret became a volunteer for the charity after seeing all her children volunteer on the lifeboats and she then persuaded husband Ricky to join her.
The family own a filling station and motor factors in Belmullet, and all were born and raised in the town. The children have been around the water all their lives and spent a lot of time on the Inishkea Islands when they were growing up. Margaret gets an alert when any of them are out on the lifeboat and knows they train regularly to be ready for every possible emergency on the water.
Commenting on her family’s connection with the RNLI, Margaret said: “I’ve watched all my children volunteer in turn, starting with my eldest Ryan. He was followed after a few years by his brother and then the two youngest joined. I couldn’t have stopped them even if I wanted to as they love the water, and I couldn’t be prouder. I don’t worry about them as I know they put safety first and have
“developed the skills and experience they need to do the job. There is a little bit of friendly competition between them but that’s healthy. People stop me in the street and ask about the lifeboat all the time.”
Ryan is the eldest of the Geraghty children and three months ago became a father himself, with his partner Katelyn, to baby Croía. She is the first of the grandchildren for Margaret and Ricky, and Ryan has hopes she will one day, when she’s old enough, follow him onto the lifeboat.
Speaking on what he gets out of volunteering with the RNLI, Ryan said: “I’m not sure if there are any other families out there with all the children on the lifeboat but for us it feels normal. I’m a helm on the inshore lifeboat and I love it; every callout is different. I’ve been out with one or two of my siblings but where possible we would try not to do that and there are plenty of great crew here.
“Between our parents fundraising and the children lifesaving, everything revolves around lifeboats. The support we get from our community here is incredible too. We couldn’t do it without that.”
Whatever weather winter throws at them, RNLI crews including those at Ballyglass and Achill RNLI in Co Mayo are ready to answer the call over the Christmas and New Year’s festivities to save lives at sea.
To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal, and enable the charity to continue its lifesaving work, visit RNLI.org/WinterAppeal.
