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MARINE TIMES NEWS December 10th:
RNLI lifesavers prepare to answer the call this Christmas

As the RNLI comes to the end of its milestone 200th year, the charity is launching its annual Christmas fundraising appeal, with a focus on the volunteer crew members who are preparing to spend Christmas on call.

David and Caroline Barry with baby Amelia, Clifden RNLI

On average, RNLI lifeboats launch over 100 times during the Christmas period every year. Whatever weather winter throws at them, RNLI crews are ready to battle the elements to save lives at sea. These rescues, and others all year round, are only made possible by the RNLI’s generous supporters, helping to fund the essential kit, training and equipment needed to keep crews prepared and protected.

Christmas is a time for family and friends, but the RNLI’s volunteer crews including those at Clifden, on the Aran Islands and Galway, are ready to leave their own celebrations this festive season and answer the call for help. Of the thousands of crew members preparing for a Christmas on call are David Barry and his daughter Caroline Barry who both volunteer with Clifden RNLI.

David Barry is a senior member of Clifden crew and Coxswain on the Shannon class lifeboat St Christopher, next summer he will mark 30 years voluntary service with the RNLI. His daughter Caroline joined the crew in 2022, she has just passed-out as inshore lifeboat crew having taken some time off to have baby Amelia last December.

Caroline said, “I will always be grateful to the RNLI because they saved my father’s life. In 1993 he and a friend were pulled from the water by Clifden’s C class lifeboat. This was before he had joined the lifeboat crew, Dad was sailing from Clifden to Renvyle on a bad night to visit his girlfriend, now my mother, Loretta. The boat capsized in Clifden Bay, the two young men were rescued and the love story continued.

“I have just completed the tier 1 inshore lifeboat training plan and I truly have learned so much. One of the perks of being an RNLI volunteer is having access to top class equipment and training and while the assessments were difficult I have learned new skills, made new friends and grown in confidence throughout this experience.”

“I grew up as part of the RNLI family and I look forward to when my daughter Amelia is old enough to volunteer, you never know, there might be three generations of lifesavers in the family!”

David said, “We had our first shout together a few weeks ago and it was definitely a proud dad moment. When Caroline was a child she loved the sea and we would regularly sail together, now she’s a mother herself, and a fully passed out RNLI crew member and I couldn’t be prouder of her. We are a very tight knit crew in Clifden and I know that if I am not on a call-out that she will be perfectly fine because we all look out for each other."

David said: ‘There’s no feeling quite like bringing someone home safe to their families – especially at Christmas. Even at this time of year, people still get in trouble in the water, and we’re all prepared to leave our own celebrations to help them.

‘But as volunteer lifeboat crew we couldn’t launch without kind donations from the public which fund the kit, training and equipment we need to save others and get home safely to our own families.’

Among the crew members preparing for a Christmas on call are husband and wife Richard and Laura Gillespie from Bundoran RNLI.

Laura and Richard Gillespie pictured with children, Matthew, Eibhlin and Darragh.

The lifeboat has always been a part of family life for Laura. Her father Joe McNulty was one of the founders of the original Bundoran Inshore Rescue Service before it went on to be Bundoran RNLI 30 years ago, in 1994. Joe is now the station treasurer while Laura’s brother Kealan is a helm. Laura joined the crew in 2012 while Richard, following in his brother Brian’s footsteps, who has over 30 years volunteering in Bundoran station, became a crew member a couple of years earlier in 2010 and helm in 2020.

It was Laura’s father Joe who inspired her to get involved: ‘From when I was small, I have been down at the lifeboat station. I grew up with it. I remember as a child after there was a storm and a bit of damage to the station, the lifeboat was stored in our garage for a period, and I would go out to play on it.’

With Richard and Laura now having three young children of their own - Matthew who is six, Eibhlin who is four and Darragh who is one, responding to the pager adds a new dynamic to both lifeboat and family life: ‘I took a break when having the children and have only recently returned to training but we have discussed taking it in turns when I am back fully. The children love coming to the station and seeing Mammy and Daddy in our full kit training or heading out on a shout. It makes me very proud and a bit nervous to think that one day they may join the crew in Bundoran as the next generation of the Gillespie and McNulty families saving lives in our area’.

As for what Laura finds most rewarding about being involved, she says: ‘I think it is the camaraderie among the station team that I enjoy most but also seeing the impact and how grateful people are when we do carry out a rescue. Sometimes we respond and it’s a small thing for us in our day, but when families come back and visit to say thanks it is then you realise the difference we make as volunteers.’

Also amongst the thousands of volunteers preparing for Christmas are seven female lifeboat and shore crew at Fethard RNLI including Rebecca Doyle, a trainee crew member.

Back row from left are Siani Blanchfield, Clara Bracken, Rebecca Doyle and Eileen Murphy and front row are Natasha Blanchfield, Tricia Rice and Nadia Blanchfield.

Rebecca is a long serving volunteer, predominantly in fundraising but also acts as the station’s Water Safety Officer and has in the past served as Lifeboat Press Officer. It was not until last year however, that Rebecca decided to join the lifeboat crew too.

‘My late Dad John Doyle led the charge to fundraise for a lifeboat and to get the station in Fethard re-opened in 1995’, Rebecca explains. ‘He became the first Honorary Secretary as it was known then, now the Lifeboat Operations Manager. My earliest memory as a child was emptying out the coins from the bucket following the church collections - fundraising for the lifeboat was always a part of home life. When the lifeboat station did reopen, I recall studying for my leaving cert on the pier and watching the training going on. I later got involved more with fundraising and was the event organiser for the Waves Music Festival which raised €65,000 towards our current D class lifeboat.

‘Being on the lifeboat crew was something I always wanted to do and with a career change last year, I found more time to do the training. Because we operate around the Hook Peninsula from New Ross to Kilmore Quay, our lifeboat has 12 different launching sites. As part of the crew training, I need to complete an exercise at each. I have one more to do and I will then be ready to respond to my first call out.’

As for what drives her on and what she finds most rewarding about being involved, Rebecca says: ‘It’s the one crew and the family and the feeling part of something bigger. Being surrounded by the water, I have always appreciated the significance of the service, and I know how lucky we are to have it on our doorstep to look after the community, family and friends.’

To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal, and enable the charity to continue its lifesaving work, visit: RNLI.org/WinterAppeal