#RNLI - Kilrush RNLI lifeboat station was put on standby on Monday 29 April for an aircraft with engine trouble, and later called to a person who drove into the water.

At 2pm on Monday the Irish Coast Guard at Shannon alerted the station authorities that there was a private aircraft descending in the region of the River Shannon with engine problems. It was reported that there were four people on board.

After a half an hour the lifeboat crew were informed the plane made a safe landing at Shannon Airport and the station was stood down.



Later that day at 8.47pm pagers were activated by the coastguard in Shannon to alert the crew that a person was reported to have driven off the road into the water in the area of Labasheeda, about nine nautical miles from Kilrush. 

The lifeboat crew assembled and within eight minutes were launched and on their way to this area. Conditions on this evening were most favourable.

After five minutes they were stood down as members of the local Gardai had managed to rescue the driver and bring him ashore. An ambulance was standing by at this area to assist the casualty and team of helpers.



Kilrush lifeboat operations manager John Lamb praised the speed of the crew and the efficiency on which the launch took place.

“At times like these it’s always good to know that our team are trained to the highest standards to deal with callouts such as this evening,” he said.

In other news, President Michael D Higgins will pay a special call to Courtmacsherry RNLI lifeboat station this weekend during an official visit to the Cork village.

While there he will view an impressive historical exhibition which is running all through the May bank holiday weekend.

The exhibition, which has been planned for months, will have a strong emphasis on the lifeboat and its crew with most families in the village having had loved ones serving as volunteer lifeboat crew since 1825.

To mark this fact, local families have displayed the name of that lifeboat crew member outside their home and placed a pair of wellington boots on their doorstep. The yellow lifeboat boot is an iconic piece of the RNLI crew members' kit.

President Higgins is expected to arrive in Courtmacsherry at 4pm on Sunday 5 May and will first visit the lifeboat station where he will be met by volunteer lifeboat crew past and present and members of the station management and fundraisers.

The station has a proud history of lifesaving with 14 awards for gallantry.

Courtmacsherry RNLI launched after the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 when the lifeboat crew rowed for over three hours in a desperate bid to reach survivors from the torpedoed vessel off the Old Head of Kinsale.

And during the Fastnet Race tragedy of 1979, in which 15 sailors lost their lives, the Courtmacsherry lifeboat was among of group of RNLI boats that spent 75 hours at sea in 60-knot winds.

#MUSEUM MONDAYS – Another national museum in Ireland has opened it doors to the public on Mondays, as is the case of the National Maritime Museum of Ireland in Dun Laoghaire, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The inaugural Monday opening took place at the end of last month and the extension of opening days continues at least throughout the summer months.

Only in June the museum was officially re-opened by President Michael D. Higgins. The musuem had been closed for several years due to essential renovation works costing €4m. A development programme was also implemented with funding from volunteers and government grants.

The premises of the museum are housed in the former Mariners Church on Haigh Terrace, which leads off Dun Laoghaire's main shopping thoroughfare on Georges Street. The museum is operated by the Maritime Institute of Ireland (M.I.I.) and has the invaluable support of a Community Employment Scheme of the Department of Social Protection.

With the new opening hours the museum is open seven days a week from 11am to 5pm. For further information on the M.I.I.'s museum and events visit: www.mariner.ie

#TIT BONHOMME - President Michael D Higgins yesterday paid tribute to the five fishermen who lost their lives in the Tit Bonhomme tragedy in January this year, The Irish Times reports.

At a special ecumenical service in Union Hall, West Cork, the President expressed his "sincere sympathies to all who lost loved ones on 15 January this year".

He added: “Coping with and learning to live with loss is the great challenge you face but you can take heart from the fact that you have such strong communities around you at this difficult time."

President Higgins also praised the tireless search teams - including the Irish Coast Guard, Naval Service, Garda and volunteer divers - as well as the fishing community of Union Hall on Glandore Harbour, where the tragedy occurred.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the fishing trawler Tit Bonhomme ran aground in rough seas near Adam's Rock, at the mouth of the harbour, on Sunday 15 January.

Five of the six-person crew - Eldin, Hayes, Attea Shaban (26), Kevin Kershaw (21) and Wael Mohammed (35) - lost their lives when the boat went down.

Only 43-year-old Abdul Mohammed, the brother of Wael Mohammed, survived the sinking after he was able to reach the shore.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#COBH TITANIC 100  - Following President Michael D. Higgins visit to Cobh to commemorate the centenary call of RMS Titanic to Queenstown, the town yesterday hosted a Naval Service review that included the Royal Navy's HMS Mersey.

The President as supreme commander of the Defence Forces boarded the Naval Service 'flagship' L.E. Eithne which passed the guest-ship, a River class patrol vessel which headed a line of vessels which lay at anchor of Cobh's waterfront, they were the L.E. Aoife, L.E. Aisling and L.E. Niamh

The historic event which marked the pinnacle of the Titanic 100 Cobh centenary week will continue as part of a year-round programme of events. For information visit www.titanic100.ie. On the homepage the L.E. Niamh features again, where on this occasion marine photographer Jehan Ashmore captured the vessel underway as she powered her way at high-speed through a misty Dalkey Sound.

Among the many places throughout Cobh where thousands of tourists have flocked since the Balmoral docked on Monday to retrace the liner's maiden voyage, has been the White Star Line pier.

From this pier were the last passengers to depart Queenstown on board the tenders PS Ireland and PS America to the ill-fated Titanic that struck an ice-berg. On her Irish call 123 passengers were transferred to the Titanic which lay outside Cork Harbour, while 7 passengers disembarked from the liner and headed ashore.

What remains of the pier which is not accessible to the public and is in danger of collapsing, there has been calls to raise funds to save the structure, as previously reported.

Also in attendance during yesterday's historic proceedings, was the excursion passenger tender Spirit if the Isles which is operating on her second season since starting Cork Harbour cruises last year. They run between Cork city quays and downriver along the Lee to Cobh.

In the 1980's the tender then named Ingot ran excursions from Dun Laoghaire Harbour into Dublin Bay and likewise of L.E. Niamh, she too transited Dalkey Sound as part of her sightseeing tours.

#COBH TITANIC 100 – President Michael D Higgins attended a ceremony in Cobh, Co Cork this afternoon to mark the 100th anniversary of Titanic's maiden voyage.

The liner's last port of call was to Cobh (then Queenstown) and was where the last passengers boarded the White Star Line's liner.

The tribute, part of Cobh's Titanic 100 programme of commemorative events, saw a naval fleet review and a flyover from the Irish Air Corps. For more the Irish Examiner has a report.