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RNLI Lifeboat News From Ireland
Courtmacsherry RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat crew
Courtmacsherry RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Val Adnams was called out at 10.15pm on Sunday night (1 September) to go to the aid of a 35ft yacht, which sought assistance as its crew got into difficulties off Dunworley Head in Clonakilty Bay.…
File image of Youghal RNLI’s inshore lifeboat
Youghal RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew were requested by the Irish Coast Guard to launch at 4.45pm on Tuesday (27 August) following reports that two swimmers had got into difficulty while swimming at Green Hole at the mouth of Youghal Bay and…
Red Bay RNLI in County Antrim completed a nine-hour callout in rough weather conditions
Red Bay RNLI in County Antrim completed a nine-hour callout in rough weather conditions to rescue two people and their two dogs after their 55-foot yacht got into difficulty off the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland in the early hours…
Belinda, James and their Porsche 911 with Newcastle RNLI’s volunteer crew and the D class inshore lifeboat Eliza
A married couple in a Porsche 911 travelling the coast of Ireland and the UK, attempting to visit all RNLI lifeboat stations recently met volunteers from Newcastle lifeboat station in Northern Ireland as they continue their journey. Belinda and James…
Portaferry RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat arrives at the Killyleagh Yacht Club pontoon
Portaferry RNLI’s volunteer crew were paged at 1.10pm on Sunday afternoon (25 August) at the request of Belfast Coastguard following a report that three kayaks had been spotted, possibly in difficulty, by a member of the public walking their dog.…
Enniskillen RNLI’s inshore lifeboat at sunset
Enniskillen RNLI’s inshore lifeboat, the John and Jean Lewis, was launched on Saturday evening (24 August) at the request of Belfast Coastguard following reports that two people had come off their jet ski on the north side of Inish Davar.…
The Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat lifeboat assisting the larger speedboat off Blindstrand in West Cork
The Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat crew responded to a distress call from the Valentia Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre on Sunday evening. Two separate speedboats, each carrying two individuals, had run into trouble off Blind Strand on the Seven Heads coastline in West…
Daisy Bailie, Daniel McGinty and Zoe Johnston got to board the inshore lifeboat Ruby Robinson during their visit to the station
Bangor RNLI received a donation from three local children following a recent garden sale. On Wednesday evening (21 August), Daisy Bailie, Daniel McGinty and Zoe Johnston visited the Belfast Lough lifeboat station and presented volunteer crew members James Gillespie and…
Portaferry RNLI’s volunteer crew launch on service
Portaferry RNLI’s pagers sounded at 2.42pm on Thursday afternoon (22 August) to assist three young adults and two dogs stranded on Rough Island after the incoming tide covered the Island Hill causeway. Lifeboat helm Scott Blackwood, with volunteer crew members…
A Skerries RNLI volunteer in the water with the casualty
Skerries RNLI was tasked by Dublin Coast Guard shortly before 7pm on Tuesday evening (20 August) following a report that two kayakers were unable to make it back to the beach in Balbriggan and were being blown out to sea.…
Wicklow RNLI’s inshore lifeboat crew return to station after the call-out
Wicklow RNLI’s inshore lifeboat was launched just before 4pm on Tuesday afternoon (20 August) following a coastguard pager alert to investigate reports of a capsized kayak off Wicklow Harbour. With helm Alan Goucher and two volunteer crew, the lifeboat was…
File image of Clifden RNLI’s inshore lifeboat alongside the all-weather lifeboat
Clifden RNLI launched on Tuesday evening (20 August) to rescue two people and their pet dog from Omey Island after they were cut off by the tide. The volunteer lifeboat crew were tasked at 8.30pm and launched their Atlantic 85…
Clifden RNLI set up a tow for the stricken 10m yacht which was on passage from Cardiff before breaking down in Connemara waters on Monday morning 19 August
Clifden RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew were called out on Monday (19 August) to assist two sailors who had run into difficulty in Ballinakill Bay, near Letterfrack. The sailors of the 10-metre yacht were two sister who had passaged from Cardiff…
File image of Carrybridge RNLI’s inshore lifeboat
Carrybridge RNLI’s inshore lifeboat Douglas Euan & Kay Richards was afloat on a training exercise on Sunday morning (18 August) when the volunteer crew came across a 13-metre vessel with four people and 2 dogs on board, which had run…
The congregation at Kilodiernan Church in Puckane for the ecumenical service of thanksgiving for the Lough Derg Yacht Club Regatta, 200 years of the RNLI and 20 years of the Lough Derg lifeboat
On Sunday morning (18 August), as part of an ecumenical service of thanksgiving for the Lough Derg Yacht Club Regatta at Kilodiernan Church in Puckane, the Nenagh Union of Parishes included a celebration of the RNLI’s 200 years of lifesaving…
Clogherhead RNLI's all-weather Shannon class lifeboat
On Sunday, August 18, the Coast Guard tasked Clogherhead RNLI volunteers with coming to the aid of a fisherman onboard a fishing vessel who needed medical care. At 2.55 a.m. Clogherhead lifeboat received a request from the Irish Coast Guard…

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.

© Afloat 2020