A record of the trust which was established to help bereaved families in the lifeboat disaster on Christmas Eve 1895 off Dun Laoghaire has been published digitally by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown (dlr) archive services.

The Kingstown Life-Boat Disaster Fund Letter Book has become the first item selected for the new digital series: Miscellany from the dlr Archive Collection.

All 15 crew on the lifeboat died after it capsized while trying to rescue the crew of the Finnish barque SS Palme which was sheltering from a storm in Dublin Bay. The event is commemorated every year on Christmas Eve.

The original book is now “extremely fragile”, the dlr Archive Services say, and making it available digitally brings it to a “much wider audience than is possible in a traditional archive while still preserving the original item”.

Councillor Denis O’Callaghan, Cathaoirleach, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council; Harry Duggan, Harbour Master, Dún Laoghaire Harbour; Ed Totterdell, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager; with RNLI crew members Nathan Burke, Andrew Sykes and James Traynor at rear

Dlr cathaoirleach Denis O'Callaghan said the archive collection is “important for the history of the county, and I welcome this first example of the council extending the reach of our historic records while ensuring the integrity and preservation of the originals”.

“ We are looking forward to adding to the new collection over time," he said.

The new publication is central to the history of lifeboats in Dún Laoghaire and this year is the 200th anniversary of the RNLI.

To mark this, O’Callaghan made a presentation to Eddie Totterdell, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager.

Georgina Sweetnam, dlr Archives described it as “an exciting step forward for dlr Archive Services”.

Kingstown Life-Boat Disaster Trust Letter BookDescription - Following the Lifeboat disaster in Kingstown [now Dún Laoghaire] on Christmas Eve 1895, a financial Trust was established to dispense assistance to the families of the fifteen men who lost their lives. This book contains copies of correspondence from the Trust's secretary to the grant recipients, Trustees and other interested parties. It contains copy letters from 1897-1902. A Descriptive Guide accompanying the work is included

The collection has been deposited with the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI), a facility which provides long-term preservation, access, and discovery for Ireland’s social and cultural data.

DRI provides “stewardship of social and cultural data from a range of organisations including higher education institutions, cultural heritage institutions, Government agencies, local authorities, and community archives.

DRI Director Dr Lisa Griffith also welcomed the development.

She said “this moving collection, which sheds light on the assistance dispensed to the families of the fifteen men who lost their lives on Christmas eve 1895, highlights the profound bravery, experiences of loss and community responses to the shipping disaster”.

You can view the digital archive on the Kingstown Life-Boat Disaster Trust Letter Book – Digital Repository of Ireland (dri.ie) here.

Some of the crew and volunteers of Dún Laoghaire RNLI were acknowledged yesterday for their bravery and commitment in saving lives at sea. Organised by Dún Laoghaire Senator Barry Ward, twelve members of the Dún Laoghaire RNLI were presented with certificates of appreciation by An Taoiseach, Simon Harris TD, in Government Buildings, Dublin.

Remembering the dramatic rescue of a six-year-old girl at the back of the East Pier in Dún Laoghaire last month, Senator Ward welcomed the volunteers to Leinster House and Government Buildings, describing them as “everyday heroes who don’t look for acknowledgement but do deserve to be recognised for the incredible work they do protecting us all.”

Senator Ward said that “we are lucky to have the services of the lifeboat in Dún Laoghaire for over 200 years, even before the establishment of the RNLI, to keep everyone safe in Dublin Bay and beyond. The Dún Laoghaire RNLI commitment to saving lives at sea is present in all weathers, at every hour of the day and every day of the year. The recently publicised rescue of a 6-year-old girl at the back of the East Pier in Dún Laoghaire on 7 April is just one example of the courage and effectiveness of our lifeboat volunteers.”

Dún Laoghaire RNLI with An Taoiseach, Simon Harris TD and Senator Barry Ward in Government Buildings, Dublin

Presenting the volunteers with a certificate of appreciation, Taoiseach Simon Harris TD thanked Dún Laoghaire RNLI for the work they do every day, “saving people’s lives at sea and serving their community”, describing them as “the brave and committed men and women of Dún Laoghaire RNLI”.

Dún Laoghaire RNLI were presented with certificates of appreciation by An Taoiseach, Simon Harris TD

It is the second honour for the Dun Laoghaire RNLI this month, with some of the crew travelling to London for a Buckingham Palace Garden Party celebrating 200 years of the Institution.

The members of Dún Laoghaire RNLI present in the Taoiseach’s office in Government Buildings were:

• Nathan Burke, ILB crew on 7 April 2024;
• Cira Doran, crew;
• Gary Hayes, Helm of the ILB on 7 April 2024;
• Laura Jackson, shore crew on 7 April 2024;
• Darina Loakman, Dún Laoghaire RNLI water safety leader;
• Mark McGibney Station Cox;
• Andrew Sykes, ILB crew on 7 April 2024, who entered the water during the rescue of a 6-years old girl;
• Ailbhe Smyth, ILB crew on 7 April 2024;
• Dara Totterdell, Dún Laoghaire RNLI Launch Authority and Training Coordinator;
• Ed Totterdell, Dún Laoghaire RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager.

Investigations are underway at Dun Laoghaire Harbour to determine how and why an unmanned pleasure craft went 'out of control' on Thursday evening (May 16th) and damaged neighbouring boats in the inner Coal Harbour area.

Social media footage captured the scene on an otherwise idyllic night in the south Dublin harbour as a 7-metre Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) spun out of control on its mooring and careered into moored boats, including those of a harbour sailing school.

An eyewitness said, "Two people were thrown from the boat while putting it on the mooring. They accidentally hit the throttle, and both were thrown from the rib. The boat continued to go around in circles until it eventually broke the mooring and ended up crashing." 

A local source said, "Luckily, nobody was killed or maimed". 

Another told Afloat: "There was damage when the RIB mounted a nearby pontoon where sailing school boats and equipment are stored".

Dublin Bay Water Wag No. 50 Siskin, sailed by Mandy Chambers and Sue Westrup, was the winner of Wednesday night's (May 17th) AIB DBSC race.

Held in warm sunshine in an ENE 5-6 knot breeze at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly set a three-round course for the 23 competing boats.

The race was a handicap race with the fleet divided into eight staggered starts.

The wind dropped as the first boat approached the leeward gate for the second time so the Race Officer shortened the course at the weather mark after two rounds and a final beat with Mandy Chambers and Sue Westrup sailing Siskin getting the gun.

AIB DBSC Water Wag race results (May 17th) 

1. No. 50 Siskin, Mandy Chambers and Sue Westrup
2. No. 31 Polly, Richard Mossop and Henry Rook
3. No. 15 Moosmie, John O’Driscoll and Shirley Gilmore

Local sailing stalwart Hal Sisk will deliver a lecture on ‘developments in transforming Dun Laoghaire Harbour’ next Wednesday 15 May at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire.

The talk begins at 8pm and admission is €5. Parking is free for attendees.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is considering 'a high-performance sailing unit' based in Dún Laoghaire Harbour's former coastguard station.

The County Architect revealed details of the project on RTE Television on Friday (May 3rd) when the Nationwide TV programme visited the harbour on the south side of Dublin Bay to hear about restoration work that has given a new lease of life to some of the nearby coastguard cottages.

As previously reported by Afloat, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council renovated the buildings as social homes in 2021.

County Architect Andrée Dargan told the programme that the town master plan aims to increase public access to the water. As part of that drive, "There is an idea that we would develop a high-performance sailing unit here," she said.

"One of the areas being considered for that is the former coastguard station", Dargan told RTE's Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh.

The programme aired on Friday, May 3rd at 7 pm on RTE One and is viewable on the RTE Player.

Currently, the Irish Olympic Sailing Team is located on the grounds of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, also in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Its base comprises a number of converted shipping containers and a floating slipway and pontoon. 

Those plans were announced in May 2018 and opened in March 2019 after Annalise Murphy's Olympic silver medal achievement in Rio 2016.

The aim of the base is to improve their training and educational opportunities, thereby creating systematic medal potential.

The Coastguard station location is also identified in DLRCoCo's concept plans for its National Watersports Campus published in January 2023 here

The RTE Nationwide TV programme visits Dún Laoghaire Harbour on the south side of Dublin Bay to hear about a project supported by Local Government, which has given a new lease of life to some old harbour cottages.

As previously reported by Afloat, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council renovated the buildings as social homes in 2021.

The programme airs on Friday, May 3rd at 7 pm on RTE One and is also viewable on the RTE Player.

There are busy scenes at Dun Laoghaire Harbour this Thursday, April 25th as the second cruise liner of the 2024 season berthed off the harbour in Scotsman's Bay.

Passengers disembarked from the 330-metre Regal Princess just after 7 am at the new tender pontoon at the harbour's number three berth in front of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

The visit follows Tuesday's arrival of the much smaller Viking Venus at 220-metres, marking the start of the town's cruise season, which will see 80 ships between April and October.

Making use of the new recently installed ship fendering at the number two berth on the Carlisle Pier adjacent to the National Yacht Club was the Bahamas-flagged 41-metre Research/Survey Vessel Fugro Helmert, having arrived from Swansea in Wales. 

Research/Survey Vessel Fugro Helmert berthed at Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Carlisle Pier

Yacht Racing 

Following last night's in-harbour 22-boat Water Wag race, Thursday evening (where light winds are expected) marks the start of the 2024 Dublin Bay Sailing Club Cruiser-racer season from Dun Laoghaire. A full programme of racing planned around an upgraded set of buoys now laid in the bay for the club's 140th anniversary season.

The visiting superyacht Sorceress, moored at a deepwater berth at Dun Laoghaire Marina, is almost three times the size of any competing DBSC cruiser, and the Marshall Island flagged yacht makes her presence felt with a black mast that towers over the 800-berth facility.

Much of the activity is viewable on three Dublin Bay webcams

Saturday’s (April 13th) Lift-in of yachts and boats at Dun Laoghaire Harbour in gusty westerly winds and sunny conditions marked the opening of the 2024 summer sailing season on the capital's waters of Dublin Bay. 

In the harbour, the National Yacht Club and neighbouring Royal St. George YC lifted in approximately 30 sailing cruisers apiece using mobile cranes in a day-long operation. On the West Pier, the DMYC also employed a mobile crane.

The boats had wintered ashore on hardstanding at the club premises.

The annual lift-in of boats at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club on Saturday, April 13th ahead of the 2024 Dublin Bay Sailing Club summer season Photo: Afloat

At the same time, an-18 mile ISORA coastal race took place from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, drawing a fleet of eight from Howth, Dun Laoghaire and Greystones for the first coastal race of 2024 as Afloat reports here.

While in the Coal Harbour area, leading yacht broker MGM boats staged a showcase of new yachts and motorboats for the forthcoming season.

On Saturday night, a young girl was rescued from the sea at Dún Laoghaire Harbour in south County Dublin, thanks to a multi-agency rescue operation involving the Coast Guard, RNLI and gardaí.

The incident occurred at around 8.20 pm off the town's east pier. The child was taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries, which have been described as non-life threatening.

It is unclear how the child ended up in the water, but high waves were noted in the area at the time. Prior to being safely taken on board an RNLI inshore lifeboat, several members of the public attempted to enter the water to rescue the girl.

The scene was attended by Dún Laoghaire Coast Guard, the RNLI, Rescue 116, and several other emergency services.

Heroic rescue just now in Dun Laoghaire. pic.twitter.com/ExrXcc73Kv

— Tom Lyons (@TomLyonsBiz) April 6, 2024

RTE News reports that Luke Nolan from Rathfarnham in Dublin was walking Dún Laoghaire pier with two friends when he said he heard a girl crying out for help.

The 24-year-old said he and his friends found a young girl and an older man on the edge of the pier, both soaked from head to toe, who were trying to reach the other young girl in the water.

Mr Nolan and his friends tried to tie a number of life rings together and enter the water but he said the waves were too strong.

"It was extremely wild, the wind was crazy and the waves just kept coming and coming".

He said he was relieved the girl was rescued and that she had appeared to remain calm throughout the incident which he said lasted around half an hour.

He said those who had witnessed the incident were shaken and that although he was a sea swimmer it would make him think twice about entering the water.

"I've never experienced anything like it to be honest".

Commenting on the callout, Dun Laoghaire RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Ed Totterdell said, ‘Our thoughts are with the young child and their family, after what must have been a frightening experience. We would also like to thank the members of the public who raised the alarm by contacting the Coast Guard so quickly.

‘I am very proud of my lifeboat crew for their actions and swift response. We train every week for every possible scenario and this was one of those times where every second counted. I hope that this young person makes a full and swift recovery.’

If you find yourself in the water, the RNLI advice is FLOAT TO LIVE. Lie on your back and make a star shape, relax and try to control your breathing, using your hands to help you stay afloat. If you see someone in difficulty in the water, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.