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RNLI Lifeboat News From Ireland
Lifeboat Towing Yacht to Ballycotton Harbour
Ballycotton RNLI lifeboat launched this evening at 17:15 to lend assistance to a 31 ft. yacht who sought assistance 4 miles east of Ballycotton in East Cork. The lifeboat arrived on-scene and established a towline at 17:50. The Irish registered…
Fenit RNLI Launch to Assist Stricken Catamaran With Two Onboard
At 5.45pm yesterday evening Monday July 5th, Fenit RNLI Lifeboat launched to assist a 40 foot Catamaran which was taking on water. The vessel which had left Donegal en route to France was 20 miles west of Loop Head and…
iPhone Co-Ordinates Save Stricken Vessel
A stricken vessel was located in trouble on Lough Erne using lat/long data from an iPhone.  A 999 call from the Motor Cruiser ‘Wee Rascal’ on Lough Erne in the early hours of this morning called on all the investigative…
Pwllheli RNLI Lifeboat Assists Yacht Bound for Cork
Pwllheli's RNLI all weather lifeboat was launched on Monday evening to assist a yacht which was drifting towards the shore. The 37ft vessel with two people on board suffered engine failure around a mile south of the town and an…
Lifeboat Crew Respond to Search for Missing Man in Mountain Lake
Members of Ballyglass RNLI responded to an emergency callout yesterday (Sunday 20 June 2010) afternoon for a man reported missing after he went swimming in a remote mountain lake outside Bangor Erris in County Mayo.  The volunteer lifeboat crew were…
Man Found Safe and Well
The man whom had been thought missing near Baltimore in West Cork has been located safe and well. All rescue services have been stood down. It is a reminder of the importance of letting people know where you are and…
Baltimore Lifeboat Search for Missing Man
The RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Bessie was called to assist in a search for a man who failed to make a pre-arranged meeting with a friend in Baltimore yesterday. The man had been camping on the Islands of Roaring Water Bay,…
Both Baltimore Lifeboats Launch on Rescue Missions
Both the all-weather lifeboat and inshore lifeboat based in Baltimore Harbour were called to give assistance on Saturday evening 19th June. The inshore lifeboat Bessie was called at 18:45 to standby a 58ft motor yacht that was disabled and adrift…
Crosshaven RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Undertakes Long Distance Rescue
Crosshaven RNLI Inshore Lifeboat undertook one of their longest distance services when they were  tasked at 17.02 to a 10m Rib on passage from Falmouth to Baltimore, 12 miles south of Roches Point, when one of the crew suffered a suspected spinal…
Dun Laoghaire RNLI's New Inshore Lifeboat Gets First Rescue
Dun Laoghaire RNLI's new inshore lifeboat had its first service call-out last night when a couple became stranded at high-tide on the coast near Blackrock. Both were uninjured and were brought to safety by the three-person crew of the boat. The incident occurred…
Man Dragged from Capsized Dinghy at Newtownards Sailing Club
At around 11.45 this morning Belfast Coastguard received an urgent call for assistance to the Newtownards sailing club where four people were in difficulty, two of them children. One man is unconscious, and in a poor way. An upside down…
Communion Class visit Wicklow RNLI
Pupils from 2nd Class of Holy Rosary Girls Primary School visited Wicklow RNLI lifeboat Station on Thursday 10th June. They were greeted by some of the volunteer crew and given a tour of the boathouse and the 2 lifeboats on…
Ballycotton RNLI lifeboat assists 31 ft. yacht
Ballycotton lifeboat station received a request for assistance to a 31 ft. yacht with a fouled propeller 4 miles east of Ballycotton. The yacht, with two persons aboard, had left Crosshaven earlier when a rope wrapped around its propeller south…
Crosshaven Lifeboat Rescues 18-foot Yacht
Crosshaven RNLI Lifeboat went to the aid of an eighteen foot yacht on passage from the Kinsale area to Crosshaven this evening. The yacht with two persons on board suffered mechanical failure and was having trouble making way into a headwind. Initially,…
Portaferry RNLI officially name new Blue Peter V lifeboat and open lifeboat station
There was a double celebration in Portaferry, county Down yesterday (Saturday 5 June 2010) as the RNLI held the official opening ceremony for their newly built lifeboat station and the naming and dedication of their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Blue…
Swansea Lifeboat in Multiple Rescues
The warm weather has brought on a string of incidents for Swansea Coastguard, who this afternoon have co-ordinated several rescues, including three missing children, a capsized kayak and an injured jet-skier. Several resources in particular were sent by Swansea Coastguard…

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