President Connolly to join Achill and Mulranny communities on Mayo visit
President Catherine Connolly will unveil a plaque on June 6 to mark 30 years of the Achill Island RNLI lifeboat station
The President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly will be in Mayo later this month where she will visit Achill and Mulranny.
Members of the Achill Island RNLI Lifeboat Station will mark the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the first lifeboat into Achill on Saturday, June 6 with President Connolly confirming she will be in attendance to unveil a plaque at 4pm.
This will be President Connolly's first official engagement in Mayo since she was inaugurated as the tenth President of Ireland last November. She will also stop off in Mulranny where she plans to visit the St Brendan's Community Village Project.
A spokesperson for the Achill RNLI said they were honoured that President Connolly will join them for their 30th anniversary celebrations.
“We are being greatly honoured by a visit from the President of Ireland Catherine Connolly who at 4pm will unveil a plaque at the Lifeboat Station at Kildavnet in memory of and in gratitude to all who have served in any capacity to ensure that we have a lifeboat ready at all times to save lives at sea around our coasts and neighbouring islands.
“We would be delighted to welcome people who have served, assisted or supported the Achill Island Lifeboat in any capacity, to come together in the evening, to help us mark this historic milestone in the history of our station,” the spokesperson said.
The first lifeboat to arrive into Achill on July 6, 1996 was the 'Helen Turnbull' an all-weather 44-foot Waveney class boat which was previously stationed in Sheerness on the Thames estuary between 1974 and 1996.
The current lifeboat the 'Sam & Ada Moody’, which was built to the cost of £1.4million arrived in Achill on April 28, 1999. The 14.26-meter all-weather boat, powered by twin turbo charged diesel engines delivers almost 1,700-horse power and carries an inflatable XP boat and outboard engine. She has a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 250 miles.
In advance of President Connolly's visit, the Achill RNLI wished to advise the public that because the roads in the vicinity of the lifeboat station are narrow and to ensure access by the rescue services at all times, a traffic management plan, assisted by An Garda Siochána will be in place during the course of the event.
A shuttle bus service, kindly supplied by TFI Local Link will be in place between Patten’s Bar in Derreens and the Lifeboat Station so persons attending are asked to park their vehicles at Patten’s car park and avail of the shuttle service. They added that any inconvenience caused to local residents is very much regretted and will be kept to a minimum.