Ireland’s leading maritime newspaper covering the Coastal, Fishing and Maritime Communities
MARINE TIMES NEWS December 13th:
Dublin doctor on call as more RNLI lifesavers prepare to answer the call this Christmas
We continue our focus on the RNLI volunteer crew members who are preparing to spend Christmas on call.
Dr Gabriel Fitzpatrick, HOWTH RNLI
Christmas is a time for family and friends, but the RNLI’s volunteer crews are ready to leave their own celebrations this festive season and answer the call for help.
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.
Just some of the thousands of crew members preparing for a Christmas on call is are volunteers at Skerries, Howth and Dun Laoghaire. Gabriel Fitzpatrick, a doctor in Dublin, who joined Howth RNLI this year said: ‘I’ve been a doctor on call over Christmas many times, but this will be my first Christmas on call as a crew member for the RNLI. Our crews train regularly and stand ready to answer the pager at any time of the year to save lives at sea. Over the past year I successfully passed out as a crew member at Howth RNLI. My fellow crew members at Howth launched on Christmas Day seven years ago, leaving their families and the turkey and ham behind. I hope everyone will remain safe this Christmas, but rest assured that RNLI crews will answer the pager if and when they sound.’
Among the thousands of crews preparing for a Christmas on call are those at Bangor, Portaferry, Donaghadee, Kilkeel and Newcastle lifeboat stations.
Donaghadee RNLI Crew
John Ashwood, a Coxswain at Donaghadee RNLI, has been a volunteer for over 30 years; ‘Back when I was in my teens I worked in the passenger boats that ran trips out to the Copeland islands fishing which I did for four years’ John explains. ‘The then mechanic at Donaghadee asked me one night if I was interested in becoming a volunteer for the RNLI and I haven’t look back since.’
John first joined in 1994 and in 2001 he became what was knowns as Second Coxswain. Over the years he has undertaken various training courses to and enhance his lifesaving skills.
‘Learning how to manage different situations has helped build up my experience tremendously,’ John says. ‘Working with other crew members from around the UK and Ireland is great as we all have different backgrounds and bounce off each other during the training.’
There are countless memorable call outs for John: ‘One that stands out was the night at 2.15am when we received news that a yacht had run aground on a stretch of rocks near Ballywalter, just off Millisle. It had been a very poor evening and navigating through a choppy swell and high winds when responding, we came across the vessel with three crew members onboard, that was stuck on the rocks. Getting the boat and crew off the rocks was a challenging task and was an experience I’ll never forget. The three onboard were seasoned sailors and despite being understandably quite frightened and shaken up, they were very grateful for being rescued with little damage to their boat.’
Reflecting on his over 30 years of service, John says: ‘The most challenging aspect of being a volunteer in any role, is trying to juggle your family life alongside work. Everyone has such busy lives these days and it can be tough dropping whatever you’re doing and going but that is also part and parcel of the role and I wouldn’t change it for the world.’
As he looks ahead to Christmas, John knows his crew are ready to respond if needed: ‘Going to shouts over Christmas is just like any other day, we are on call 365 days a year and whatever comes up we know that thanks to our training we are more than capable to deal with any scenario that comes our way.
Also, just one of the thousands of crew members preparing for a Christmas on call are members of the extended McElhone family at Sligo Bay.
Liz Leydon, RNLI shore crew and Trish McElhone and Aibhe McCrann, RNLI shop volunteers
Earlier this year Sligo Bay RNLI volunteer crew along with the Coast Guard came to the assistance of Michael McElhone who became unwell while out for a walk on Coney Island with his wife Anne and a friend’s dog ‘Paddy.’ One of the first to respond was Michael’s sister Liz Leydon, who had no idea what the subject of the call-out was. Liz is one of four members of the wider McElhone family who volunteer at Sligo Bay RNLI.
Michael was taken from the island by Coast Guard Rescue 118 and has made a full recovery. Meanwhile Sligo Bay RNLI crew took his wife Anne and ‘Paddy’ safely back to shore.
Michael expressed his thanks to all of the agencies who combined to take him off the island and get him the care he needed.
Helm David Bradley said: ‘There’s no feeling quite like bringing someone home safe to their families. 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. 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 we are very grateful.’
To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal, and enable the charity to continue its lifesaving work, visit: RNLI.org/WinterAppeal