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RNLI Lifeboat News From Ireland
Bundoran RNLI Pushes the Boat Out
This Saturday (4 September 2010) Bundoran RNLI lifeboat crew will literally be pushing the boat out to raise funds for the life saving charity.  They will be holding a boat push from Ballyshannon to Bundoran in Donegal and want people…
Dun Laoghaire Lifeboats Assist Swamped Yacht
Both lifeboats at Dun Laoghaire RNLI station were launched this afternoon when a 20 foot yacht with two persons on board got into difficulty close to a rocky shoreline on Dublin Bay. The incident occurred around 5pm when the Flying 15 keelboat…
Lifeboat Rescues Flying Fifteen Crew
A rescue operation to recover a Flying fifteen keelboat and its two crew is underway on Dublin bay this evening. The 20-foot sailing boat capsized in strong north westerly winds in Scotsman's Bay. Both Dun Laoghaire's inshore and offshore lifeboats…
Sheep Rescued by RNLI
A lifeboat crew rescued a sheep and a seal pup in two separate incidents off Anglesey on the far side of the Irish Sea last week.Moelfre RNLI lifeboat crew helped the sheep after it fell 20ft from cliffs onto an…
New Lifeboat for Shannon Estuary
Volunteers at Kilrush Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station on the Shannon Estuary have received a new state-of-the-art lifeboat which enters service this month. The Atlantic 85 RIB (Rigid Inflatable boat) is not only bigger and more powerful than Kilrush's…
Lifeboat Rescues Two Near Old Head of Kinsale
The Kinsale RNLI Lifeboat was launched at 5.15 pm on Sunday afternoon to go to the aid of a 17ft Mastercraft, with two passengers on board, which had lost power and was anchored one mile east off the Old Head…
Lough Derg Lifeboat Assists 3 People on 'Engine Failure' Vessel
At 20.55hrs last night, Derg RNLI lifeboat was requested to launch to assist three persons on board a 43ft motor cruiser which had suffered engine failure. The lifeboat with helm Eleanor Hooker, Deirdre Kenny and Ruth Spillane on board, launched…
Launch of Helensburgh Lifeboat following capsized dinghy
At 6.27pm on Wednesday 11 August 2010 Clyde Coastguard instructed the launch of Helensburgh RNLI Lifeboat after they were advised that a dinghy had capsized off the Helensburgh sea front and that there were two children in the water; the…
Scottish Lifeboat Launched for Emergency Beacon Alarm
Scotland's Oban RNLI lifeboat, the Mora Edith Macdonald, was called out at twenty past midnight last night in response to an EPIRB alarm. The EPIRB, Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, was swiftly traced by the lifeboat direction finding equipment to…
Portrush Prepares to Celebrate 150 Years of Lifeboat Service
Portrush Lifeboat station celebrates its 150th anniversary next September 19th. The RNLI is holding a service and celebration at the Royal Court Hotel in Portrush. Portrush is a popular tourist destination on Northern Ireland's famous Causeway Coast. The town sits…
Tamar-Class Lifeboat Visits Irish Waters
The Tamar-class lifeboat is the latest in a series of high-tech craft within the RNLI lifeboat fleet and in use throughout the UK. The class is named after the River Tamar, Cornwall and like other lifeboats, they are named after large rivers, writes Jehan…
Red Bay RNLI Rescue brother and sister off Fair Head Rocks in County Antrim
County Antrim's Red Bay Lifeboat crew launched this evening (Saturday 7 August 2010) to rescue a brother and sister who had got into difficulty in the Boulder Field on Fair Head rocks on the North Antrim Coast.  This is the…
Cold Swimmer Rescued in Portrush Harbour
A teenager was rescued from Portrush Harbour after a very cold swim out to a moored boat to collect some fishing gear. After swimming across the harbour to the moored boat the teenager called for help. Belfast Coastguard co-ordinated the…
Fenit Lifeboat Recover Injured Woman from Great Blasket Island
At 03.41 this morning (Thursday 5 August 2010) Fenit RNLI lifeboat crew were requested to launch by Valentia Coast Guard to go to the assistance of a woman injured on the Great Blasket Island.  The woman had fallen and sustained…
Lough Derg Lifeboat Assists Vessel Aground
This afternoon at 15.47hrs, Lough RNLI Derg lifeboat Toshiba Wave Warrior launched to assist eight persons on board a 31ft cruiser aground on Lough Derg. At 15.30hrs on Monday afternoon August 2, Derg RNLI lifeboat was requested to launch following…
Majority of Lifejackets Fail Lifeboat Test
Over 90% of lifejackets tested at Ireland's two biggest sailing centres failed simple checks carried out by the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) last week writes Irish Times Sailing Columnist David O'Brien. From 91 jackets tested in Cork and Dublin,…

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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