Achill lifeboat answer Santa’s island SOS

Achill lifeboat answer Santa’s SOS


Anton McNulty

THE Achill RNLI lifeboat crew ensured that the children of Clare Island and Inishturk had a happy Christmas when they escorted Santa Claus onto the islands when the weather conditions had threatened his arrival.
With Santa unable to get to Roonagh Pier to get to the islands to meet the children before Christmas, an SOS was sent out to get him on the island. That SOS was answered by the crew of the Achill lifeboat who met Santa at their base in Achill and travelled across Clew Bay towards the islands.
“Santa’s plans coincided with our own,” explained Achill Lifeboat Operations Manager, Tom Honeyman. “Oddly enough, we had planned to visit the islands before Christmas as we have a very loyal following among the two communities. They continue to amaze us with their fundraising capabilities. Everybody in Achill RNLI is very grateful. We were delighted to have such an important guest with us as well.”
His sentiments were echoed by the Coxswain Tommy Kilbane who said they ‘were delighted to step in and help Santa get to the islands to visit all the boys and girls’.
Clare Island was Santa’s first port of call and he was met at the pier by a large crowd of children and parents. A maritime grotto was set-up inside the ‘Sam and Ada Moody’ lifeboat and the children were guided into the lifeboat to meet the special guest. Despite pleas for him to stay for a hot drink, Santa said his schedule was too busy to delay.
“While I would dearly love to spend more time on this island haven, I have more people waiting. The craic is good here in Summer though, and Summer is not such a busy time for me,” he said.
On Inishturk, he was met by equally enthusiast children and parents who were unanimous in their gratitude to Santa and Achill RNLI for making such a unique effort to visit the children at such a busy time. This time the lure of hot soup and sandwiches was too much for Santa and he was brought to the local community centre, which provided a postcard picture view of the snow covered mainland.
However, he could not stay too long and was back in the lifeboat and whisked back to to the North Pole in preparation for his Christmas journey around the world.