RNLI Lifeboat News From Ireland

Ballyglass Lifeboat Rescues Two Anglers After Boat Runs Adrift In Broadhaven Bay

22nd June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Ballyglass RNLI rescued two fishermen whose boat got into difficulty and ran adrift in Broadhaven Bay on Thursday afternoon (20 June). The station’s all-weather volunteer lifeboat crew were requested to launch and locate the sea anglers drifting into danger in…

Lough Ree lifeboat volunteers approaching a motor cruiser run around earlier this week

Lough Ree Lifeboat Diverts From Training For Two Callouts

21st June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Lough Ree RNLI volunteers diverted from a training exercise yesterday evening (Thursday 20 June) on two separate callouts. While carrying out their regular monthly training on board the inshore lifeboat The Eric Rowse, the RNLI crew were requested by the Irish…

The 30ft yacht experienced difficulty in heavy fog off the Beara peninsula

Castletownbere RNLI Lifeboat Launch to Yacht in Difficulty

18th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Lifeboat crew at Castletownbere RNLI were launched this afternoon at 14.30 to assist a 30ft yacht which experienced difficulty in heavy fog off the Beara peninsula in West Cork. The alarm was raised when a lone yachtsman experienced difficulty in…

Portrush Lifeboat Comes To Aid Of Six After RIB Breakdown On Father’s Day

18th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Portrush RNLI’s volunteer crew were requested to launch at 4.32pm on Father’s Day (Sunday 16 June) to reports of a broken-down RIB with six people on board, some three nautical miles north-east of Inishowen. The lifeboat crew arrived on scene at…

Carrybridge RNLI’s inshore lifeboat Douglas Euan & Kay Richards and rescue water craft

Three Callouts For Carrybridge Lifeboats Over Busy June Weekend

18th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

A busy weekend for Carrybridge RNLI began at 7.39pm on Friday 14 June when the inshore lifeboat Douglas Euan & Kay Richards and rescue water craft were launched to a vessel with two people which had run aground about a…

Wicklow RNLI with the yacht at the East Pier in Wicklow Harbour

Early Morning Callout For Wicklow Lifeboat To Yacht In Difficulty

16th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Wicklow RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat brought three sailors to safety early on Friday morning (14 June) after their 35ft yacht got into difficulty nine miles east of Wicklow Harbour. The lifeboat slipped moorings shortly after 1am and put to sea following…

The Rosslare RNLI went to the assistance of a D2D competitor this morning

Rosslare RNLI Lifeboat Assists Dun Laoghaire Dingle Race Yacht in Difficulty off Tuskar Rock

13th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Rosslare Harbour RNLI Lifeboat came to the aid of eight people whose 10m yacht got into difficulty off the Wexford coast in the early hours of this morning (Thursday 13 June). The Rosslare Harbour volunteer crew launched their all-weather lifeboat…

Dunmore East’s all-weather lifeboat Elizabeth and Ronald

Dunmore East Lifeboat In Nine-Hour Mission To Trawler With Fouled Propeller

12th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Dunmore East RNLI launched yesterday (Tuesday June 11) in what turned out to be a nine-hour mission to assist a 24m fishing trawler with six crew on board. The vessel had suffered a fouled propeller 40 miles south of the Co…

A view of the yacht aground at Kilronan from the bow of the lifeboat

Aran Islands RNLI Responds Twice within hours To Assist Patient & Rescue a Lone Sailor

12th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Aran Islands RNLI responded to two call-outs last night and early this morning to carry out a medical evacuation and come to the aid of a lone sailor. The volunteer crew was first asked to launch their all-weather lifeboat at…

Valentia RNLI Launches to Injured Fisherman on Fishing Trawler

12th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Valentia RNLI volunteers launched their all-weather lifeboat Saturday evening (8 May) to assist a fisherman with crush injuries to the chest on board a fishing trawler. At 7.28pm the Valentia Coast Guard requested Valentia RNLI all-weather lifeboat to launch to…

Clifden RNLI's all-weather lifeboat on exercise

Clifden Lifeboats Respond To Lone Sailor In Distress

10th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Clifden RNLI were tasked by the Irish Coast Guard on Saturday afternoon (8 June) to a distress signal received from a personal locator beacon (PLB) registered to a 50-foot yacht that had been activated some 13 miles west of Slyne…

Wicklow all-weather lifeboat Jock and Annie Slater alongside the rope-fouled yacht

Wicklow Lifeboat Assists Yacht With Rope-Fouled Rudder

10th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Wicklow RNLI brought three sailors to safety yesterday morning (Sunday 9 June) after their 10-metre yacht got fouled in ropes off Wicklow Head. The all-weather lifeboat Jock and Annie Slater put to sea shortly before 10am under the command of…

Medevac From Cape Clear Island For Baltimore Lifeboat

8th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Baltimore RNLI carried out a medevac last night (Friday 7 June) from Cape Clear Island off the coast of Baltimore in West Cork. The volunteer crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 6.20pm, following a request from the Irish Coast Guard…

New Clifden Lifeboat Volunteer Put To The Test In Callout To Fishing Vessel With Engine Failure

7th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

New Clifden lifeboat volunteer Ashling Sweeney has her first callout earlier this week to a fisherman whose boat drifted out to sea after engine failure. At 3.40pm on Tuesday 4 June, Clifden RNLI was requested to launch its all-weather and…

Mayo Sailing Club Commodore Duncan Sclare handing the cheque to Dave Curtis, RNLI

Mayo Sailing Club Support the RNLI

6th June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Going out to sea has always had a certain level of risk attached to it. When a boat breaks down and starts to drift out towards America or worse towards a rocky shore, help has not always been close to…

Crosshaven RNLI Lifeboat Assist Lone Angler

3rd June 2019 RNLI Lifeboats

Both Crosshaven and Kinsale RNLI lifeboats were launched at 11am this morning (Sunday 2 June) to assist a 17’ boat with one person on board, broken down off Roberts Cove in a strengthening Force 6/7 westerly wind. The angling boat…

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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