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RNLI Lifeboat News From Ireland
Scott Blackwood with his proud parents at Portaferry RNLI’s inshore lifeboat
Portaferry RNLI has passed out a new helm at its inshore lifeboat station on Northern Ireland’s Ards Peninsula. Scott Blackwood (29), originally from Newtownards, moved to Portaferry in 2020 to be closer to his partner Nicole and joined the lifeboat…
The INEOS Grenadier will be rolled out to 20 stations across Ireland and the UK to launch and recover D-class lifeboats
INEOS Automotive has become an official partner of the RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea. Over the next five years, the INEOS Grenadier will become the official vehicle of RNLI lifeboats and support the RNLI by helping their…
The Groomsport Lifeboat panel image pictures Christine Scholes (left) and Ann Blachford. The last coxswain of the Groomsport lifeboat, Robert Waterson, was Ann’s grandfather and Christine’s great uncle
An exhibition celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the RNLI is currently running in the Long Gallery at the North Down Museum in Bangor on Belfast Lough. Over the years, the charity’s volunteers have answered the call to rescue day or…
Aran Islands RNLI launched their all-weather lifeboat at 2.46 am, under Coxswain Tommy Dirrane, following a 999 call. Three people were drifting in a fibreglass dinghy which was taking on water approximately five miles northeast of Inis Mór
Aran Islands RNLI came to the aid of three people drifting in a dinghy on Sunday morning (14 July). The volunteer crew were requested to launch their all-weather lifeboat at 2.46 am, under Coxswain Tommy Dirrane, following a 999 call. Three…
RNLI Fish Friday encourages people to come together and enjoy their favourite fish dish on any Friday in August while raising money to help save lives at sea
The RNLI is calling on the public to gather their own crew together this summer and take part in the charity’s foodie fundraiser, Fish Friday. Taking place throughout August, Fish Friday encourages people to come together with friends and family…
Clifden RNLI’s inshore lifeboat Joyce King with a vessel under tow
Clifden RNLI’s volunteer crew launched both lifeboats on Thursday afternoon (11 July) to assist three divers who had experienced a rapid ascent near Friar Island. The crew were tasked at around 4.15pm to reports of divers in difficulty a mile…
The 32-foot West Cork-based yacht, with four persons onboard, under tow by the RNLI Castletownbere from the Fastnet Rock
Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat was launched early this morning to assist a 32-foot West Cork-based yacht, with four persons onboard, which had lost its ability to manoeuvre three miles south of the Fastnet Rock. The lifeboat received an alert at 06:15…
Lough Derg RNLI’s inshore lifeboat speeds to the 20ft cruiser that had suffered engine failure west of Garrykennedy Harbour on Thursday evening 11 July
Lough Derg RNLI launched to the aid of seven on a 20ft cruiser that had suffered engine failure and was drifting towards rocks west of Garrykennedy Harbour on Thursday evening (11 July). At 4.45pm, Lough Derg’s inshore lifeboat Jean Spier…
Wicklow all-weather lifeboat RNLB Bridie O’Shea. The lifeboat will be on display during our Annual Station Open Day this Sunday
Wicklow all-weather lifeboat RNLB Bridie O’Shea was launched just before noon today (Wednesday 10 July) following a Coast Guard pager alert, to reports of an EPIRB (emergency distress beacon) activation in the Wicklow area. The lifeboat under the command of…
Sean Walsh, a volunteer crew member at Union Hall RNLI
Sean Walsh, a volunteer crew member at Union Hall RNLI in West Cork, has this week passed out as a helm for the station. The helm is responsible for the Union Hall inshore lifeboat during launching, at sea and through…
Youghal RNLI inshore lifeboat
Youghal RNLI responded to a distress call from local lifeguards on Wednesday, July 10, at 5:16 pm, regarding three paddleboarders in difficulty approximately 500m off Youghal front strand beach. The weather conditions were described as choppy with a strong north-westerly…
File image of Clifden RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat
Clifden RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew in western Connemara were tasked just after 11am on Sunday morning (7 July) by the Irish Coast Guard to assist a casualty on the island of Inishbofin. The Shannon class all-weather lifeboat St Christopher was…
File image of Bundoran RNLI’s inshore lifeboat
Bundoran RNLI’s lifeboat volunteers were called on Sunday afternoon (7 July) to aid a RIB in difficulty after suffering engine failure near Mullaghmore in Co Sligo. The 5.5-metre craft, with one person on board, was in danger of drifting close…
Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat
Aran Islands RNLI carried out a medical evacuation on Saturday after a cyclist fell. The volunteer crew had assembled at the lifeboat station for a routine training exercise at 12 noon on Saturday (6 July) when a cyclist fell off…
Crosshaven RNLI  Lifeboat Helmsman Aidan O'Connor
Helm Aidan O'Connor has reached a similar milestone in this year's 200th anniversary of the RNLI. Not 200 years, but his 200th 'shout' on the Crosshaven Lifeboat. He is the first to attain that particular honour at the Cork Harbour station.…
Kilmore Quay RNLI's all-weather Tamar class lifeboat assists two people aboard a yacht with engine failure
Kilmore Quay RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat was launched Saturday afternoon (July 6) to assist two people aboard a 32-foot yacht with engine failure close to the Saltee Islands. The Coast Guard requested that the all-weather Tamar class lifeboat, Killarney, launch at 2.37…

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