Editorials

The Irish Times view on the bicentenary of the RNLI: a record of service and quiet bravery

The dedication of its volunteers is a reminder of how people on these islands can work together in pursuit of a common goal

The RNLI celebrated 200 years of saving lives with the unveiling of two special stamps from An Post, which depict the charity’s lifesaving work in Ireland. Pictured from Dúun Laoghaire RNLI are Andrew Sykes, Laura Jackson, Nathan Burke and Paul Cummins.( Photograph: Patrick Bowne)

Fri Mar 8 2024 - 20:10

Last Sunday the Aran Island all weather lifeboat David Kirkaldy launched at 4.51am with six volunteers on board to go to the aid of a fishing boat that had ran aground at An Coirnéal Port Eochla on the north side of Inis Mór. The lifeboat stood by as five fishermen abandoned their stricken vessel and got into a life raft before being eventually winched aboard Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115 from Shannon. The lifeboat remained on station until all casualties were accounted for before returning to Cill Rónáin Pier at 7.30am.

It is another tale of the quiet bravery in service of others repeated on an almost daily basis around the coast of Ireland since 1826, when the first lifeboat station in Ireland was established at Arklow in Co Wicklow.

The RNLI had been founded in London two years earlier and celebrated its 200th anniversary on March 4th. Since then, volunteer RNLI crews have launched 380,328 times and saved 146,277 lives. During the period 438 volunteers lost their lives, including 32 Irish lifeboat crew members; 15 were lost in the Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) lifeboat disaster on Christmas eve 1895.

When the Irish Free State was established in 1922 there were 24 lifeboat stations in Ireland. As the British government apparatus withdrew, the RNLI remained, providing its voluntary, locally -driven service. There are now 46 stations in Ireland, with a base in Swords, Co Dublin.

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Lifeboats are tasked on their missions by the Irish Coastguard and HM Coastguard in the North. The organisation’s annual budget is in the region of €200 million and is funded by donations and voluntary contributions. It does not seek Government funding in either jurisdiction, in order to maintain its independence.

The RNLI is avowedly apolitical but amidst the calls for Border polls and a redefining of east-west relationships, the everyday service of its volunteers is a reminder of how people on these islands can work together in pursuit of a common goal, if they choose to do so.

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