#rnli –  RNLI lifeboat crews from Dunmore East and Tramore were launched this evening (Wednesday 12 June) to search for three men who were reported overdue when their small fishing punt failed to return. Dunmore East RNLI and the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 recovered the three men from the water in Tramore Bay who were later pronounced dead.

Both lifeboats were launched at approximately 5.45pm when a local fisherman reported the three men overdue. They were also joined by Rescue 117. The three men had been out in their 18 foot punt to fish and were headed to Brownstown Head between Tramore Bay and Dunmore East.

Rescue 117 recovered the first casualty from the water a few minutes later with the remaining two men recovered by the Dunmore East lifeboat crew. The punt was submerged in the water with only a small part of it visible. The lifeboat proceeded back to Dunmore East harbour where a doctor pronounced the men dead.

Speaking on the tragedy Dunmore East RNLI Coxswain Michael Griffin said, "This is a devastating loss for the community. I knew the men personally and had been at school with two of them. They were well known and respected by everyone. I wish to offer my condolences and those of Dunmore East and Tramore RNLI to their family. Sadly we have seen our fair share of tragedy in this area and it is heartbreaking to be unable to bring them home safely."

#RNLI - Galway RNLI came to the rescue of a man whose 25ft sailboat almost hit rocks off Barna in Galway Bay on Sunday morning (9 June).

The alarm was raised by a member of the public who spotted the boat veering dangerously towards rocks south east of Barna Pier just before 11am. He contacted the Irish Coast Guard, who sought the assistance of Galway RNLI.

The volunteer lifeboat crew arrived at the scene at 11.14am and towed the sail boat out of difficulty. There was one person on board.

Galway RNLI lifeboat operations manager Mike Swan says with so many people on the water in this good weather, it's important that people be aware of the dangers in their local area.



The lifeboat crew on this call out were helmsman Declan Killilea, David Oliver, David Badger and Martin Oliver. Conditions were flat and calm.

#RNLI - Sligo Bay RNLI will celebrate its 15th anniversary this Sunday (16 June) with an open day at the lifeboat station in Rosses Point.

There will be an opportunity to chat to the crew, have a look around the station, visit the lifeboat shop and enjoy the seafaring music provided by the groups involved in the Sea Shanty Festival which is also taking place this weekend from 14-16 June.



Sligo Bay RNLI began life in a prefab cabin at Sligo Yacht Club back in 1998. Construction on the new lifeboat station situated at the pier in Rosses Point was completed in 2002. It houses a D Class lifeboat named Elsinore and has 22 volunteer crew members, along with a fundraising team and a lifeboat shop. 



As part of the Sea Shanty Festival there will a gala concert in the Yeats Country Hotel on Saturday night (15 June), all proceeds from which will go the Sligo Bay lifeboat station. Tickets are available from the lifeboat station shop, Bay View Stores, Rosses Point and Source on John St in Sligo.

Elsewhere, RNLI volunteers and supporters from around Ireland were recognised for their role in supporting and raising funds and awareness for the lifesaving charity and its crews at the RNLI Annual Presentation of Awards in the Great Hall at Trinity College Dublin.

Guest of honour was the outgoing chairman of the RNLI, Admiral the Lord Boyce, who handed out awards to 51 volunteers throughout Ireland.

Irish Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds and his wife Geraldine along with Irish Water Safety CEO John Leech were also in attendance at the ceremony, presided over by the chairman of the RNLI Council of Ireland, John Coyle.

Awards presented on the day included two Gold Badges, four Silver Badges, 19 statuettes, 17 Bronze Badges, one pair of RNLI binoculars and eight Supporter Awards.   

The Gold Badges were received by Jackie O’Grady from Clifden RNLI branch for his work over 25 years with the station, and to Hugh Stafford in Wexford for his role in the setting up of the Fethard-on-Sea lifeboat station in the early 1990s and his work since then in raising funds for the charity.

Also receiving an RNLI statuette was former lifeboat man at Rosslare Harbour, Fergus Wickham, who was recognised for almost five decades of volunteering with the RNLI, first as a lifeboat man and then as a launching authority at the station.

#rnli – Both RNLI Baltimore lifeboats were called to assist a disabled fishing boat at 18:19 this evening. The Hardy 20 half decker with 2 persons on board was departing Sherkin Island when they experienced engine failure. The disabled vessel drifted onto Garrison point due to south easterly winds. When the all weather lifeboat arrived on scene one of the fishing crew had jumped onto rocks ashore in an attempt to keep the boat off the rocks in a dangerous surge.

Coxswain Aidan Bushe took the vessel in tow and brought her to safe moorings while the inshore lifeboat stood by. Once the boat had been secured the inshore life boat returned the 2 adult men to the safety of shore.

On board the all weather lifeboat were Coxswain Aidan Bushe, mechanic Jerry Smith, Benny Cottrell, Sean McCarthy, Pat Collins, John O'Flynn and Ronnie Carty

On board the inshore lifeboat were Helm Kieran Collins and crew John McDonagh and Shane Sweeney

#rnli – Rosslare RNLI launched in the early hours of this morning (11 June) when a lone yachtsman issued a Mayday call after his vessel grounded. Unable to give his exact position the lifeboat crew searched the area before they located him on his 27 foot yacht which was grounded between Curracloe and Blackwater in Wexford.

The lifeboat launched at 1.10am under the command of Second Coxswain Keith Miller and proceeded to Maurice Castle, where it was thought the yacht was located. However on arriving at the scene it was discovered the yacht was not there and the lifeboat crew widened their search.

Rosslare RNLI Launching Authority Dave Maloney successfully made contact with the sailor from the watch tower in Rosslare Harbour and asked the man to stay on his VHF radio counting to ten so that the lifeboat crew would pick it up and be able to pinpoint his position. They located him between Curracloe and Blackwater shortly after 3am and discovered that the vessel was hard aground and would not move.

They were close to shore and two volunteer lifeboat crew launched the inflatable Y boat from the lifeboat to recover the man from the vessel but the incoming surf flipped the boat and made it impossible to recover the man. The two lifeboat crew then waded into the water to the yacht and safely recovered the man, who was wearing his lifejacket, from the vessel. They then accompanied him back to shore where they were met by members of Curracloe Coast Guard.

Commenting on the callout, Rosslare RNLI Deputy Launching Authority Dave Maloney said, "This was a very early morning callout for the lifeboat crew and was carried out in complete darkness. When the lone sailor was unable to give his position the priority was to locate him and make sure he was safe. Thankfully when we established contact with him we were able to locate him and safely accompany him back to shore."

#RNLI - A collision with a tidal turbine was to blame for the incident that caused the dismasting of a yacht in Strangford Lough on Sunday 9 June.

As reported yesterday on Afloat.ie, Portaferry RNLI's lifeboat crew was dispatched to the stricken yacht in the narrows of Strangford Lough close to the SeaGen water turbine.

The local RNLI press office confirmed that three men and a teenage boy were on board the 37ft yacht at the time - though BBC News says that only three people were rescued, including a child.

The SeaGen installation in Strangford Lough was accredited by Ofgen as Britain's first tidal power plant, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

#rnli – A 36' motor cruiser on passage from Kinsale to Crosshaven with two people on board, lost one of its two engines with the second engine showing alarms. As the vessel was off Ringabella and on a lee shore, the skipper requested assistance.

At 5.50pm this afternoon, the pagers of the volunteer crew at Crosshaven RNLI were activated and Aidan O'Connor, Vincent Fleming and Ritchie Kelleher launched into force 6 South Easterly winds and rough seas, met with the vessel off Roches Point and escorted it safely to Crosshaven.

#RNLI - Enniskillen RNLI today (10 June) brought four people to safety in two separate incidents on Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh.

In the first call-out of the day, the volunteer lifeboat crew retrieved a man and women from their stranded cruiser which had developed engine problems and run aground on Lower Lough Erne.

The inshore lifeboat Joseph and Mary Hiley and the Rescue Water Craft (RWC) were launched just before 10am at the request of Belfast Coastguard and made the 25-minute, six-mile journey to the casualty's last known position at Crunnish Island. The wind was coming from the south east, force five with good visibility.

On arrival at the scene, the crew noted the casualties had deployed their anchor and there were strong waves hitting the starboard side of the vessel.

The RWC crew member was transferred to the casualty vessel to reassure the crew and to check for any leakage. Another crew member from the lifeboat was transferred to assist with the tow and to lift the anchor.

The lifeboat established a tow and the vessel was refloated and brought to safety at Tudor Farm jetty, close to the initial location.

Less than three hours later, the inshore lifeboat Jason Logg was launched by request of Belfast Coastguard to rescue two people on a broken-down personal water craft on Upper Lough Erne.

The crew proceeded to the casualty's last known whereabouts at the mouth of Tamlagh Bay, four miles downstream from the station towards Enniskillen.

On arrival, the crew found the troubled vessel in the reeds with two people sitting on it. The crew transferred both passengers onto the lifeboat before setting up a tow and bringing the water craft back to Bellanaleck Marina.

Elsewhere in Northern Ireland, Portaferry RNLI brought three men and a teenage boy to safety yesterday afternoon after their yacht got into difficulty off Portaferry in Co Down.

The volunteer lifeboat crew was alerted just after noon following a mayday call that there was a demasted yacht in trouble on Strangford Lough.

The lifeboat was launched minutes later and was alongside the stricken vessel, a 37ft yacht located in the narrows of Strangford Lough, at 12.10pm. Weather at the time was good with clear visibility and a flat calm sea.

One of the four casualties, who had been thrown from the vessel, had been recovered by a fellow crew member and all four were on board the yacht when the lifeboat crew arrived on scene.

Alongside, there was difficulty recovering the vessel so the mast and sail were cut away. Once cut, the lifeboat proceeded to tow the yacht with it crew on board safely back to Strangford where it was tied to a mooring.

Two of the crew were conveyed to hospital while the other two were made comfortable on the shore.

Portaferry RNLI was requested to launch for a second time later this afternoon following a report that a swimmer had gone missing in Newtownards. The lifeboat having launched was subsequently stood down after the missing person was found safe and well.

#rnli – Howth RNLI rescued a dog after he fell 200 feet from a cliff in north county Dublin yesterday.

The alarm was raised at approximately 4.30pm by a member of the public who was walking along the cliff path at Howth Head and noticed the dog's distressed owners.

The lifeboat helmed by Dave Howard and with fellow volunteer crew members Lorcan Dignam and Darryl Reamsbottom on board, was launched within minutes and went to the scene where the crew observed that Luca, a Pointer had fallen from the highest point of the cliff at the nose of Howth.

In what was a challenging rescue lasting about 30 minutes, two of the lifeboat crew with the guidance of Luca's owners at the top of the cliff, climbed over rocks and made their way to the frightened animal.

Having successfully recovered Luca, the crew then had to carefully work their way back to the lifeboat through the rocky boulders.

While returning to the lifeboat station, the inshore lifeboat crew came across a broken down jet-ski. The lifeboat towed the vessel and its owner safely back to a slipway at Howth Harbour.

Speaking following the call out, Howth RNLI Helm Dave Howard said: 'This was one very lucky dog. It was a 200ft drop and we didn't expect to have such a happy outcome to this rescue. Needless to say the owners were delighted to have Luca who was frightened and shivering but without harm, safely returned to them'.

This was the first of two call outs for Howth RNLI yesterday. The second came at 5.40pm when the lifeboat was requested to launch again following a report that a man who had been swimming across the channel to Malahide had got into difficulty.

The inshore lifeboat helmed this time by Lorcan Dignam and with crew members Tim McDonnell and Joss Walsh on board made its way to the scene where the swimmers having being dragged to shore by two friends who had raised the alarm, was located on the south eastern tip of Donabate Strand.

The lifeboat crew assessed the man and administered first aid on the scene before he was airlifted to hospital by the Irish Coast Guard

#rnli – While performing an exercise at yesterday's lifeboat station Open Day in Crosshaven, Cork harbour, Valentia Coast Guard contacted the lifeboat by radio alerting them to a yacht with possible fire on board in the Owenabue river upstream of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

The lifeboat immediately broke off and headed to the scene reports Jon Mather of the lifeboat station. On arrival, the crew checked the yacht which had two adults and two children on board and found the engine bay fire was out before towing the vessel to Crosshaven Boatyard for repairs.

The RNLI volunteer crew on this service were Vincent Fleming, Ritchie Kelleher and James Fegan.