A 52-year-old former Achill lifeboat coxswain yesterday celebrated what he believed was an unprecedented apology after taking an action for constructive dismissal against the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The RNLI had previously awarded Mr Brian Patten a silver medal for bravery.
For the rescue of the Carigeen Bay in gale-force winds of 8-9 in 1999, Mr Patten and his crew were officially honoured at the Barbican Centre in London and the medals were presented to Coxswain Patten and his crew by Princess Anne.
However, relations with the RNLI turned sour, leading to a lengthy legal battle.
When the settlement was announced yesterday it was stated that Mr Patten, a married father-of-four from Achill Island, Co Mayo, is also to receive a "gratuity" of €5,000 from the RNLI in recognition of his previous service to the institution.
Surrounded by family members and former lifeboat colleagues, Mr Patten expressed jubilation and relief outside Castlebar courthouse yesterday after the settlement was announced and a statement of "regret" read to an Employment Appeals Tribunal.
"This has been a lengthy ordeal for me and my family but I have emerged from it all with my integrity intact," Mr Patten told reporters.
He added: "I was fighting for a principle. Money was never an issue."
The hearing of the case of constructive dismissal taken by Mr Patten against the RNLI had been due to resume yesterday after an 18-month break. But at the outset, Mr Peter Murphy, solicitor for the RNLI, told the tribunal, chaired by Ms Moya Quinlan, that the matter had been settled.
Mr Murphy then read a public statement which had been agreed by the two parties which read: "The Royal National Lifeboat Institution ["the institution"] very much regrets the circumstances which led to the resignation of Brian Patten as coxswain of the Achill Lifeboat and any distress caused to Brian and his family as a result.
"The institution is pleased to confirm that in his former position as second coxswain and latterly as coxswain of the Achill Lifeboat, Brian demonstrated the highest qualities and standards of seamanship, courage and volunteer commitment. His resignation from the Lifeboat Service was a loss to the service."
The statement recalled that during his service with Achill Lifeboat, Mr Patten was awarded a silver medal, the institution's second-highest award for gallantry at sea.
It continued: "The awarding to the silver medal to Brian bears testimony to his extraordinary service during the rescue of the crew of the trawler Carigeen Bay close to Achill Head on February 27th, 1999."
In his testimony to the initial tribunal hearing in September 2003, Mr Patten recalled that in January 2001 his brother, Michael, was forced to resign his position as chairman of the Lifeboat Establishing Committee following an incident at the RNLI Christmas dinner in 2000.