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To mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of An Garda Síochána will involve a re-enactment of the deployment of the Civic Guard in Cork city a century ago, along with a parade, and the unveiling of commemorative plaques.

The date for the event is Wednesday, 9 November and at 3pm a Naval Service OPV90 class vessel, L.É.James Joyce with a contingent of gardaí is to head upriver to berth at Kennedy Quay in the south docklands close to the city centre.

In celebrating the centenary, the ceremony is to comprise the Garda Band, Garda Ceremonial Unit, Garda Mounted Unit, members of An Garda Síochana and garda staff. Also to attend will be retired members of An Garda Síochána.

Together they will leave from Kennedy Quay and march alongside the River Lee towards the city on a route taking in Albert Quay, Clontarf Street and Anglesea Street before reaching Union Quay. The location of this quay is on the south channel of the Lee. 

A plaque will be unveiled on Union Quay at 4pm and this will be in recognition of the first location of where the Civic Guard took place in Cork city during 1922.

EchoLive continues with details of next Wednesday's event.

Published in Navy

#EithneToMed - Patrol vessels of the Naval Service will be deployed for a third summer of humanitarian operations in the Mediterranean.

As Independent.ie writes the Naval Service flagship, LE Eithne, has been assigned to begin the rotation of three ships in the Mediterranean on rescue operations for migrants attempting to reach Europe from North Africa.

It had been expected that the 33 year old vessel would depart Haulbowline Naval Base in Cork on May 1 but that departure was rescheduled pending final Government approval and will depart tomorrow.

Defence Minister Paul Kehoe will wish the vessel and 72-strong crew under Captain Brian Fitzgerald well as they depart Haulbowline Naval Base at 11am.

The first deployment under Operation Pontus 2017 will last for three months with two further Naval Service patrol vessels expected to be deployed until next November.

Ireland first dispatched Naval Service vessels to the region in 2015 amid concerns over the number of migrants drowning in the Mediterranean after leaving North Africa, in particular the Libyan coast, on flimsy inflatable craft.

The inflatable craft were totally unsuited to the journey and were almost always dangerously overloaded by ruthless people smugglers.
Hundreds of migrants have drowned as a result.

LE Eithne completed a previous deployment to the Mediterranean alongside other Irish patrol vessels including LE James Joyce, LE Samuel Beckett and LE James Joyce.
Irish crews work under the direction of the Italian Navy and Coastguard.

For much more on the story, the newspaper has more to report by clicking here.

 

 

Published in Navy

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.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

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

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.

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

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

 

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

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