President Connolly unveils plaque to mark 30 years of west Mayo lifeboat station
Large crowd attend ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the first RNLI lifeboat to Achill Island
The President of Ireland Catherine Connolly unveiled a plaque to mark the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the first RNLI lifeboat to Achill and to honour the volunteers who helped save lives around the west Mayo coast.
The first RNLI lifeboat to be stationed in Achill arrived into Clew Bay 30 years ago and since then the lifeboat has been launched 414 times from its station in Cloughmore.
President Connolly was joined on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Achill RNLI Lifeboat Station by Peter Sparkes, the CEO of the RNLI who travelled from Britain for the ceremony as well as the current and past crew and volunteers of the Achill RNLI as well as their colleagues in the Ballglass RNLI. Members of the Achill Island Coast Guard unit and other units in Mayo were also present and an Irish Coast Guard plane performed a fly-over to mark the arrival of President Connolly.
Members of the Dooagh Pipeband played for President Connolly on her arrival to the station and to mark her visit, she was presented with gifts from Chloe and Diarmuid Cattigan and Finn McGreal, children of crew members. She was also presented with a sculpture made from Achill bog oak made by members of the Achill Men's Shed.
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.
Master of Ceremonies, Anthony McNamara, the former Achill Island RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager and current member of the fundraising branch welcomed President Connolly to Achill and said her visit marked a milestone in the history of the lifeboat.
“During three decades, our lifeboat crews have launched on service 414 times, aided 268 people, and saved eleven lives. By the way, the bar that the RNLI sets in recording lives saved is incredibly high, and I've no doubt that there are many more people alive today due to the intervention of our lifeboat,” he said.
He paid special tribute to the various crew members of the Achill RNLI lifeboat who over the last 30 years have given up their time to help other people in danger.
“Indeed, in the 30 year history of our station on an island with a sparse and often at times transient population, we have always provided a crew. In that time, we estimate that well over 100 men and women have put themselves forward and volunteered to crew our lifeboat.
“I think it says a lot about humanity that in this day and age, when people are finding it hard to make ends meet, there are still people who put their hands up and volunteer, often at great cost to themselves and their families, and it says a lot about our community here in Achill, as indeed in the 238 similar lifeboat communities around the coasts and waterways of the rest of Ireland and the UK that men and women are prepared to volunteer to leave their warm beds in the middle of the night or in the middle of a storm to take a lifeboat to sea.
“They are special people and we have them here in our community and we thank them on days like today and their families, who see them off and wait and worry until they return safely,” he said.
He outlined two services of significant importance; one of which in 1999 resulted in the station receiving a silver service medal when the then Coxswain Brian Patten and his crew went out in violent gale force conditions to save the crew of a fishing boat, which was drifting onto rocks in Achill Head.
The second occurred on March 14, 2017, when the lifeboat launched at 1am to take part in the rescue of the Coast Guard Rescue helicopter R116 which crashed into Blackrock Island in Blacksod Bay. Shortly after arriving at the scene, the crew of the lifeboat retrieved the body of the pilot Captain Dara Fitzpatrick and Anthony said that the crew of the R116 and their families 'hold a special place in our hearts and in the history of our station'.
The RNLI is a charity which depends on the generosity of the community to pay for lifesaving equipment and Anthony praised the members of the fundraising community who give their time to raise funds and to the communities and groups who provide so generously to the Achill RNLI.
Peter Sparkes, CEO of the RNLI thanked the Achill RNLI for the invitation to attend 'this special day' and also thanked President Connolly for joining them in their 30th anniversary celebrations.
“Your presence and ongoing support means a great deal, not only to Achill Island, but to all our lifesavers across Ireland and the wider RNLI,” he said.
Achill Island RNLI is one of 46 lifeboat stations across Ireland and Mr Sparkes said that since the RNLI was founded 202 years ago it has helped save 147,000 lives.
“Madam President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like you to join me in commemorating all those who have selflessly given their lives to help save others and freely given their time, energy, and passion for our cause since 1824.
“On behalf of the whole RNLI family and the communities we serve, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the remarkable volunteers we serve in the RNLI, especially those from Achill Island.”
Following the ceremony, President Connolly was given a tour of the Achill Island lifeboat station and met with members of the crew and their families.