Presented by President Cosgrave.

THE awards made by the Institution for the gallant efforts to discover the survivors of the Welsh trawler Cardigan Castle, which struck the rocks and sank in Clifden Bay, Connemara, on the west coast of Ireland, on 14th February last, were presented by Mr.

William T. Cosgrave, President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, at the Town Hall, Galway, on 12th July. The services were fully described in the last issue of The Life- boat, the awards being— To Lieut.-Commander P. E. VAUX, D.S.C., R.N., District-Inspector of Life- boats for Ireland, the Bronze Medal.

To Sergeant F. J. TOBIN, of the Civic Guard, the Institution's Thanks inscribed on Vellum.

To Superintendent S. McQuiLLAN, of the Coast Life-saving Service, a Pair of Binoculars.

The Silver Medal awarded to Mr.

T. L. CLOUSDALE, fireman on the trawler Tenby Castle, which was wrecked at the same time, was pre- sented to him at Swansea on July 15th.

The chair at the ceremony at Galway was taken by Mr. E. K. Jackson, Presi- dent of the Chamber of Commerce, supported by Mr. J. 0. Kelly-Lynch, Honorary Treasurer of the Galway Branch of the Institution, and Vice- Chairman of the Galway Chamber of Commerce, Mr. H. McDonogh, Chair- man of the Galway Urban Council, Mr.

J. S. Young, O.B.E., Vice-Chairman of the Galway Urban Council, and Mr.

Michael McNeill, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Galway County Council. The Institution was to have been represented by Mr. George : F. Shee, M.A., its Secretary. He crossed from England the night before, but the boat was late in arriving at Dublin,, and the train to Galway had already left. He went at once to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and through their good offices was even- tually enabled to proceed to the head- quarters of the Irish Free State Air Force, and was allowed to borrow one of its machines, a Bristol fighter biplane, with a 250 h.p. engine, being taken to Galway in the record time of 100 minutes. Unfortunately, owing to the delay in getting the necessary permission from the Ministry of Defence, he was still too late to take part in the cere- mony, but was able to meet President Cosgrave and convey to him personally the thanks of the Committee of Manage- ment for coming to Galway expressly to present the Institution's awards.

The Irish Press hailed Mr. Shee's impro- vised journey by air on Life-boat Service as the first step towards the establish- ment of a regular civilian flying service in Ireland.

Mr. Jackson, in his opening speech, said that there was no higher quality in human nature than the readiness to risk one's own life for the sake of others, whose only claim and appeal were that they were fellow-creatures in distress. He spoke, too, of the intention of the Institution to place a Motor Life-boat at Aran, off the coast of Galway, and said that it should be the pride of the town and county of Galway to raise a sufficient sum annually for the upkeep of the new Station.

President Cosgrave read the account of the wrecks of the Tenby Castle and Cardigan Castle, as it appears in the September issue of The Lifeboat. He then said: " We are assembled here to-day, at this public meeting of the citizens of Galway, the capital of Connacht, to record our appreciation of gallant conduct, brave, meritorious services in most difficult circumstances, rendered in the hope of relieving suffer- ing humanity on the Western seaboard, where relentless warfare with sea and storm is carried on. We pay tribute also to the gallant volunteers who manned the slender curragh which took Sergeant Tobin and Lieut-Commander Vaux to High Island." In handing Lieut.-Commander Vaux the Bronze Medal, President Cosgrave said : "In the name of the people of Galway, and of the entire country, I thank you for your great services." In presenting the Vellum of Thanks to Sergeant Tobin, he said: " This is a recognition from the Life-boat Institu- tion for brave and meritorious duty on a very difficult occasion; and in presenting the Binoculars to Superin- tendent McQuillan, he said: " It affords me great pleasure to tender you this presentation of the Life-boat Institution in recognition of your meritorious and daring efforts to save life." Mr. Kelly-Lynch proposed a vote of thanks to President Cosgrave, who, he said, had come at great inconvenience to give the hall-mark of his recognition to the work being done in Galway to promote the interests of the Institu- tion—which was to promote the interests of humanity itself—along their coast.

By helping the Institution in its good work they were helping the general welfare of their country, for it was a work which was entirely non-political and non-sectarian and which everybody, if he were a Christian, must support to the best of his means. Mr. Kelly- Lynch then gave the particulars of the Motor Life-boat for Aran which he had received from the Institution—that she would cost about £10,000 to build, and about £500 annually to maintain— and emphasized Mr. Jackson's appeal to Galway to contribute the £500 annually.

Whether the money was contributed or not, the Institution would maintain the Life-boat at Aran, but it should be a matter of pride to Galway to undertake to pay for her maintenance.

A good start had already been made, for on the last May fair they had held a Life- boat Day which realized £74. In that sum sixteen shillings in every pound were in silver, that high proportion of silver being, so the Institution had told him, a record.

Mr. T. S. Young seconded the vote of thanks, and Lieut.-Commander Vaux, in the name of the Institution, thanked President Cosgrave for making the presentations.

The presentation of the Silver Medal to Mr. T. L. Clousdale was made by the Mayor of Swansea (Councillor David Griffiths, J.P.), at the Guildhall, Swan- sea, on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Branch. The District Organizing Secretary told the story of how he had saved the lives of the whole crew by diving after the ship's boat which had been carried away, and the Mayor paid a tribute to his courage and congratulated him in the name of Swansea..