Newcastle RNLI has launched a festive 10K, 5K and one-mile fun run to help save lives at sea.

Appealing to the seasoned athlete as well as families and fun runners wanting to get some exercise while getting into the Christmas spirit, the event will take place on Sunday 11 December around the Castlewellan Lake on a mainly flat terrain.

The 10K and 5K events will be chip-timed with prizes for the winners and an iconic RNLI all-weather lifeboat medal for all participants.

The one-mile Christmas dash, meanwhile, is open to everyone and suitable for those bringing families and those with prams and/or pets.

While fun runners won’t be timed, they too will receive a Christmas medal for their efforts. There will also be prizes for the most festive costumes.

For those who can’t do the run on the day but would still like to take part, there will be a virtual option. Simply do the 10K in your own time, send Strava/Garmin or equivalent evidence of completion to RNLI community manager Nuala Muldoon at [email protected] and you will receive a medal in the post.

All participants, whether running on the day or putting in the steps at home, will receive a medal for their efforts | Credit: RNLI/Newcastle

Speaking ahead of the event, Muldoon said: “This is a wonderful Christmas event with options to be competitive in either the 10K or 5K, to enjoy the fun run with family or friends, or do it in your own spare time virtually.

“We want people to really get into the Christmas spirit by dressing up, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying a well-deserved mince pie and some Christmas fun at the finish line.

“All proceeds raised from the Castlewellan event will go to Newcastle RNLI. Every time a RNLI crew launches, they are determined to save every one. But they can’t do that without the generosity of the public who support events such as these and raise vital funds.

“By taking on the Castlewellan 10K/5K or one mile fun run, participants are helping to keep our volunteers safe. Every penny they raise makes a difference. It helps the charity to recruit and train volunteers and could fund the kit they need to protect themselves. It helps ensure a lifeboat is ready when the call comes and it enables our safety advice to reach as many people as possible so they can stay safe by the water.”

In 2021, lifeboats at Northern Ireland’s 10 stations launched 297 times bringing 370 people to safety, seven of whom were lives saved.

During the lifeguard season, RNLI teams located on 11 beaches along the Causeway Coast and in Co Down responded to 330 incidents, coming to the aid of 384 people, one of whom was a life saved.

To register for the Castlewellan 10K/5K and one-mile festive fun run on Sunday 11 December, click HERE.

East Coast rowing clubs are undertaking the challenge of rowing around Ireland in 24 hours on indoor rowing machines in aid of Alice Hayes, a nine-year-old girl from Blackrock who has been diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer.

Alice is a bright, beautiful, and brave young girl whose world was turned on its head in April of this year when she was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is a rare, aggressive, and complex cancer of the nerve cells. Chances of relapse are high, and it carries low survival rates.

“We’re certain she will beat these odds,” say St Michael’s Rowing Club in Dun Laoghaire, who are leading the initiative, “but she needs our help.”

This marks the first time that all 11 rowing clubs along the East Coast — St. Michael’s, Skerries RC, Fingal RC, Stella Maris RC, St Patrick’s RC, Dalkey RC, Bray RC, Greystones RC, Wicklow RC, Vartry RC and Arklow RC — are undertaking a joint fundraising initiative.

Members of the clubs, their families and friends will attempt to row a total of 3,171km in 24 hours on ergometers. Under the watchful eye of St Michael’s captains Gareth Witthington and Nicola Fitzgerald, the challenge will take place on Saturday 26 November from 10 am. The aim is that each person doing the challenge will row for a 30-minute session, which will see people rowing through the night.

The family needs to raise a total of €550,000 to get Alice access to life-saving cancer drugs in a clinical trial at the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in New York. The funds need to be raised by this Christmas to ensure that she is enrolled in the next available trial group in early 2023.

Clubs hope to raise at least €7,500 for the great cause, and a GoFundMe page has been set up for donations. If anyone would like to join the challenge and row on one of the ergometers in Dun Laoghaire, email [email protected].

Lough Ree RNLI marked a significant milestone on Monday (17 October) when a cheque for €100,000 was presented as the local community contribution to the overall €1.2m cost of the new lifeboat station on a site donated by the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland.

The presentation was made by Michael Ganly, chairman of the Lough Ree RNLI Appeal Committee to Anna Classon, the RNLI’s regional head for Ireland.

On her first visit to the new lifeboat station, which was opened this past June, Classon said she was “really impressed by the partnership between the RNLI and the IWAI and to see two great organisations sharing resources for the benefit of the community”.

The community contribution was the result of a fundraising campaign which ran for more than 12 months and was supported by community groups, the corporate sector and a host of individuals for the lakeside community and beyond.

Presenting the cheque, Ganly said: “The work of people like committee secretary Pauline Irwin and all others involved was crucial to the success of the venture.”

The new lifeboat station has been very active this year and has been a particular asset to the 46 volunteer crew as the charity and its lifeboat Tara Scougall have responded to 46 callouts in the year to date.

Reflecting on the successful fundraising campaign, Lough Ree RNLI treasurer Vincent Rafter thanked “all the GoFundMe campaigns, tests of endurance and anonymous donors who contributed amounts large and small to this special community initiative”.

The volunteers at Union Hall RNLI received a cheque recently for over $500 from a group of Irish emigrants in the USA.

Volunteer fundraiser Pamela Deasy travelled to Kinsale recently and met John Farley, who resides in San Francisco, and his friend John O’Mahony, a volunteer deputy launching authority at Kinsale RNLI, to receive a cheque on behalf of McCarthy’s Bar in San Francisco.

McCarthy’s Bar is owned by Eileen McCarthy from Drinagh in West Cork, and its patrons last year raised over $5,000 in aid of the Kinsale lifeboat, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

John is a lifelong supporter of the RNLI with first-hand experience of their work after he, his sister and his niece were rescued a number of years ago when their boat broke down off the Old Head of Kinsale.

Deasy said: “On behalf of all our team, we wish to thank Eileen and John for thinking of us in Union Hall. This donation will help us greatly.

“With three callouts in the last two weeks, this donation will help with training costs for our volunteers, as it costs roughly €1,557 per crew member annually.”

Earlier this week, experienced sea kayaker Jon Hynes set out on a journey with a difference — paddling the entire Cork coastline solo in aid of a charity very close to his heart.

Three years ago Jon’s wife Alayne was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has since made a full recovery, thanks in no small part to the support services provided by Cork ARC Cancer Support House.

Jon says that he vowed from the day of Alayne’s diagnosis that he would use his sea kayaking skills to give back to those who helped his family through the most challenging of times.

Jon Hynes with his wife Alayne, who was supported throughout her treatment for breast cancer by Cork ARC Cancer Support House | Credit: Jon Hynes

And now he’s doing just that, tackling all 935km of Cork’s jagged mainland coastline in a kayak he’s also rigged with a 1sqm sail “so when conditions favour I have the added challenge and fun of sail kayaking”.

Jon has already made incredible progress in the four-plus days since setting off on this adventure, claiming an “excellent run” via Roaringwater Bay and Baltimore — and putting in three massive 50km-plus days on the water.

But that’s not so surprising to anyone familiar with his 1,500 round-Ireland paddle in 2015, the subject of an award-nominated documentary as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

He aims to reach the end of the route in Youghal by lunchtime tomorrow (Monday 18 July) and any new contributions towards his €5,000 fundraising goal will surely give him the push he needs to get there.

“I am really excited to deliver this fundraiser,” Jon says, “the gratitude that I feel towards everyone across all the medical services in helping my wife survive breast cancer runs deep.

“In particular, though, I want to acknowledge by my kayaking paddle strokes just how much I appreciate ARC House, their fantastic team and their range of services.

“Cork is a beautiful place to live and thrive, but it is comforting to know that service like Cork ARC house is there when someone has a cancer battle on their hands. Thank you for supporting my fundraiser for Cork ARC.”

Keep up with the latest on Jon’s adventure on his Facebook page HERE.

An intrepid duo intend to cross the Irish Sea from Wales to Wicklow this weekend in an unusual fashion — paddling on their bellies.

Damien Wildes and Charlie Fleetwood will assume the prone position on their stand-up paddleboards from Holyhead in the early hours of this Saturday 9 July for the crossing to Greystones, which they expect to take somewhere between 14 and 20 hours.

Each will be assisted by their own volunteer-operated support boat for the endurance feat in which they hope to raise at least €15,000 for three local charities: Purple House Cancer Support, Wicklow SPCA and Wicklow RNLI.

“Completing the prone crossing will be a world’s first,” Damien told Greystones Guide, “and I know not many people have actually made it across by SUP, so Charlie will make it onto a very short and very illustrious list.”

The pair’s iDonate page has more on their plans HERE.

Lough Derg RNLI has hailed as a great success its first ‘Lap the Lake’ charity cycle.

The local lifesaving charity’s fundraising branch organised the 130km cycle around Lough Derg for last Saturday 8 May, which saw 250 cyclists take part in its most ambitious event to date.

And the day was blessed by good weather and good cheer as it raised significant funds that are essential for the lifeboat station’s lifesaving activities.

The 130km route around Lough Derg — covering counties Tipperary, Clare and Galway — gave participants the opportunity to delight in the outstanding beauty of the lake and the River Shannon.

Their safety and wellbeing were well catered for with first-aid providers, out-riders, marshals and bike maintenance stops along the route, as well as comfort and refreshments stations.


Niamh McCutcheon, chair of the Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Committee and the ‘Lap the Lake’ Event Committee, said the inaugural event “was enjoyed by cyclists from all over Ireland. The friendly welcome provided by the marshals, RNLI crew and the enthusiastic and well-organised committee was much appreciated by all.”

McCutcheon thanked Lough Derg Yacht Club and all the sponsors of the event, whose generosity also ensured its success. Meanwhile, the fundraiser remains open for donations via its JustGiving page.


Feedback from participants praised the attention to detail, safety and comfort; a compliment to the organisational skills of Niamh McCutcheon, Pat Kelly, Caleb and Laura Clarke, Tom Sanders, Anne Atkinson, Bob O Brien, John MacMahon, Sarah Langham and Ted Knight on the Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Committee and Veronica Plunkett, Ena Butler, Hilda Hamilton, Joe Hughes, Johnathan Horgan, Laura Clarke and Niamh McCutcheon on the Lap the Lake Event Committee.

RNLI lifeboat helm Owen Cavanagh and crew members Doireann Kennedy, Joe O'Donoghue, Ciara Moylan, Ania Skrzypczynska and Ciara Lynch, who worked in shifts throughout the day, brought the lifeboat Jean Spier to the public harbour in Dromineer and to other harbours around the lake and were pleased to answer questions about the RNLI, its lifesaving work and the lifeboat itself.

The fundraising committee thanks the many other members of the Lough Derg Lifeboat Station who played major roles in the success of this event. In particular, Aoife Kennedy, lifeboat administration officer and deputy launching authority at Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat Station, who assisted with the registration of participating cyclists and acted as liaison between the fundraising committee and the lifeboat station throughout the event; Chris Parker (Lough Derg RNLI crew member) who acted as safety officer; Peter Kennedy (DLA and station mechanic) and Caleb Clarke (hon treasurer) who dressed the yacht club in RNLI bunting; Christine O’Malley (lifeboat operations manager), Liam Moloney (DLA) and Peter Kennedy who remained on hand to coordinate the lifeboat;s manoeuvres; and Richard Nolan (Lough Derg RNLI crew member) and Peter Harty (RNLI area lifesaving manager) who both cycled in the event.

Dublin Bay sailor Guy O’Leary is back in the water and challenging himself again to swim a mile each day during the month of May in aid of cancer research.

Each day of the MileADayInMay! swimming challenge will see Guy joined by “someone who helped me through the rough times” to raise funds for Cancer Research UK and Cancer Clinical Research Trust Ireland.

And Guy’s final swim of the month will start outside Dun Laoghaire Harbour, finishing at the Royal Irish Yacht Club slipway.

As regular Afloat readers will know, Guy — son of Dun Laoghaire Marina developer and local sailing stalwart Michael O’Leary — was diagnosed with cancer after a routine check-up in November 2017 at the age of 34.

“My incredible surgeon performed a bowel resection straight away but a subsequent PET scan revealed the disease had spread to my liver,” he says.

“Another major operation, 11 cycles of chemo and many hard days later, I was back on my feet with clear scans and a future I thought I mightn’t have.”

Guy still wants to give back to the “brilliant” charity and the doctors and scientists it supports “who developed the diagnostics, surgical robots and chemo treatments that saved my life”.

He explains: “It is because of the skill of two amazing surgeons, an unbelievable oncologist, my amazing team of nurses, a relentlessly inquisitive wife and the work of Cancer Research that I am still alive today.

“The progress Cancer Research has made over the last three decades means that I was given a chance at survival. This was a chance my grandmother didn’t have when she fell ill with the disease in the mid-1980s.

“Having been through the horrors of cancer, I want to do everything I can to help the research effort.”

Guy has set up a website for his challenge at MileADayInMay.org which links to his fundraising site, and you can also follow his progress on Instagram.

Usually, it’s the lifesavers of the RNLI who answer Mayday calls – it’s the most serious call for help. But this May, they need the public’s help.

The charity is calling on the people of Achill and its diaspora to support Achill Island RNLI lifeboat crew’s Mayday Mile to help raise vital funds to keep people safe this summer.

Organised by the island’s lifeboat crew, the Mayday fundraiser will see the volunteers rowing a distance of one mile from their lifeboat station in a small flotilla including a currach, some kayaks and other watercraft commonly seen in the pristine waters around Achill Island.

The crew will be carrying their pagers with them so they can respond to a call for help, should the need arise.

Funds raised through Mayday fundraising events will make sure that RNLI lifesavers have everything they need to keep families safe on the water and RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews will drop whatever they’re doing when a call for help comes in.

Eilish Power, Achill Island RNLI’s press officer says: “Summer is our busiest time of year, with thousands of people visiting the area and enjoying the water. A call for help can come from anywhere, from people enjoying days out with family or friends or the medical evacuations on our surrounding islands that our volunteer crew facilitate.

“Mayday is our own call for help, as we rely on the generosity of the public to support events like the Achill Island RNLI lifeboat crew’s Mayday Mile, and raise the funds that allow us to be there when we’re needed most.

“But we need to be ready. Training, kit, stations, fuel: these are just some of the things we need to save lives, and that your fundraising can help provide.”

The RNLI’s Mayday national fundraiser begins on Sunday 1 May and will run for the whole month across Ireland and the UK.

You can show your support for the Achill Island RNLI lifeboat crew’s Mayday Mile by giving what you can via the donation page, and visit the station’s Facebook page for details.

Howth Yacht Club offers so many ways to make your support for Ukraine go further.

The North Co Dublin club is matching donations through its crisis appeal for MSF on GoFundMe up to €5,000.

In addition, every euro of ever purchase of a flag or pennant (€15 for a small, €25 for a large) goes to the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis appeal.

There are less than 25 flags left to purchase, so stop by the office this Easter weekend to get one before they’re gone.