Skerries RNLI Update

New RNLI Memorial will remember local lifeboat crews’ sacrifice
 
Seven lifeboat crewmembers from Skerries and Howth lifeboat stations are to be honoured on the RNLI’s first memorial. The memorial sculpture, to be unveiled in Autumn 2009 at the RNLI’s Dorset headquarters, will pay tribute to those who gave their lives while helping to save others. The majority of names on the memorial will be RNLI volunteers but other maritime lifesavers will also be remembered. Six of the names belong to Skerries RNLI volunteers who lost their lives in 1873 when their lifeboat capsized.

The loss of local volunteer lifeboat men in 1873 whilst out trying to save the lives of the crew onboard the schooner “Sara of Runcorn” will never be forgotten by anyone serving at the Lifeboat Station in Skerries. The six Skerries Volunteers who drowned were Patrick Reid, James Kelly, William Fitzpatrick, Joseph Halpin, Rich Cochrane along with Albert Fanning. They were all remembered on a grave stone at the entrance to the Holmpatrick Cemetery in Skerries. Their story, and the history of the station, can be read in full on the Skerries Lifeboat website www.skerriesliefboat.ie/history.

Skerries has a proud and honourable history with the RNLI and saving lives at sea. Though the charity our volunteers are happy to belong to is no longer called “Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwrecks”, we proudly remember our local lifesavers here in the community. The new memorial sculpture will be located opposite The Lifeboat Training College, in Poole, southern England, where future generations of lifesavers and fundraisers will train. This memorial and those it remembers should further inspire them and all who are connected with the RNLI and lifesaving at sea. The memorial will be accessible at all times so the public can pay their respects and contemplate the extraordinary self-sacrifice of the many people throughout the islands of Ireland and UK, involved with the charity over the last two hundred years. Ultimately the memorial will remind us all of the commitment and dedication of those involved with maritime search and rescue past and present, especially the RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crews at our station in Skerries and our flanking stations in Howth and Clogherhead, commented Mary Courtney, Skerries Press Officer.

The following people from Skerries and Howth RNLI lifeboat stations, who have lost their lives while going to help others, will be remembered on the memorial.

The RNLI invited submissions from artists for an inspirational design. A selection panel representing all areas of the RNLI chose a design by sculptor Sam Holland. Her steel sculpture depicts a lifesaver in a boat, saving another from the water, and was thought to symbolise the history, and future, of the RNLI. The names of those who lost their lives will be engraved in steel bands around the base of the memorial sculpture.

Photograph by Studio 11

Brian Wead, RNLI Service Information Manager, explains:

‘Significant research has been undertaken both at headquarters and at our stations to identify over 750 individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice, but given the passage of time and the vagaries of record keeping over the years, we sadly still have some unknowns or missing initials.’

Maureen La Frenais, RNLI Memorial Manager adds:

‘The project is being managed and part-funded through the RNLI Heritage Trust, which was set up to preserve the historic objects and archives of the Institution for future generations as donations and legacies given to the RNLI for lifesaving can only be used for that purpose. So we are extremely grateful to the lifeboat station volunteers and crews, the wider RNLI family and our supporters who have made this memorial possible.

For more information or to make a donation please visit www.rnli.ie/memorial.

RNLI media contacts
For more information please telephone Mary Courtney, Skerries Lifeboat Press Office on 087-2335734 or Niamh Stephenson, RNLI Media Relations Manager on 087-1254 124 or 01-8900460 or nstephenson@rnli.org.uk
 
RNLI online
For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.ie. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre www.rnli.org.uk/press

Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates over 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 100 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 137,000 lives.

The Heritage Trust is a subsidiary charity of the RNLI, established in 2004 to care for the future conservation and financing of the RNLI museums and collections.  It relies on grants and voluntary contributions for support.

Charity number CHY 2678 in the Republic of Ireland and registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SCO37736)