THE ROYAL National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has confirmed that Kilrush in Co Clare is to get one of the new generation of high-powered lifeboats for its dangerous Atlantic missions.
Kilrush will be one of only two stations in Ireland and the UK to receive the new boats next year.
On his last visit to Kilrush before he retires, RNLI chief executive Andrew Freemantle confirmed the purchase and delivery of a new Atlantic 85 B Class lifeboat for the RNLI station at Kilrush.
Mr Freemantle said the boat will be delivered to the voluntary crew in Kilrush next June. The Atlantic 85 Rib (rigid inflatable boat) is bigger and more powerful than Kilrush’s existing Rib and is fitted with the latest search and rescue technology.
Following the construction of a new station in 1996, an Atlantic 21 B Class lifeboat was placed on temporary duty at the Kilrush station. It was replaced by an Atlantic 75 lifeboat the following October.
Kilrush lifeboat operations manager John Lamb said: “This is a great vote of confidence in the crew here at Kilrush. It shows that we are doing what is being asked of us and are being rewarded by being entrusted with this, the latest in lifeboat technology and development.”
The crucial task of maintaining the lifeboat in Kilrush falls on mechanic Martin Brew who said, “This is a bigger boat allowing us to carry more equipment, more crew members and more casualties.”