A GREAT crowd, reverently absorbed in one of the most beautiful and significant ceremonies associated with the progress of civilization; the aged Bishop of Cloyne, a grand figure, clothed in the dignity of the episcopal robes and ad- dressing the thousands of onlookers in a moving tribute to the nobility of the service carried out by the Life-boatmen and appealing to the Irish people to do their duty in supporting the work of the Institution ; the eloquent testimony of President Cosgrave to its national and international value and to the wisdom and generosity with which the Com- mittee of Management have dealt with the problems of the Irish coast; the sweet voices of the women and chil- dren ringing out over the water in the hymns " Ave Maria " and " Hail, Queen of Heaven" ; the cordial co- operation of ministers and laity of the Church of Ireland and of the Catholic priesthood in the dedication of the boats by the latter to the glory of God and the service of mankind ; the whole scene framed by the loveliness of the coast of Cork—these sights and sounds combine to leave in my mind an indelible memory of beauty and solemnity, and the conviction that the Ceremonies mark a red letter day in the history of the Institution's activities in Ireland and are fraught with much blessing for the future.

By a curious train of circumstances, entirely without any intention on the part of anyone concerned, it has hap- pened that during the last weeks of my tenure of office as Secretary of the Institution it has been my privilege to attend no less than eight Inaugural Ceremonies of Life-boats. Two Stations were on the Yorkshire coast, and they were honoured by the presence of H.R.H. the Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood, who has made her home in Yorkshire. One was at Padstow, in North Cornwall, where H.E.H. the Duke of Gloucester had named the big 61-foot Boat Princess Mary last summer. Another was at Hastings, where a second Sussex boat, the gift of the late Mrs. Lilian Philpott, was named.

Four of the Ceremonies were in Ireland, and I was so much impressed by those held on the coast of Cork on the 6th and 7th July that I feel impelled to give a brief account of them, although, at the time of writing, the Ceremony at Clogher Head, Co. Louth, is still to come. Unfortunately, I was obliged, on medical advice, to forego the pleasure of attending the Inaugural Ceremonies at St. Peter Port, Guernsey, on 5th, and at Cloughey, Co. Down, on the 19th September.

Support of the Two Churches.

The Ceremonies at Courtmacsherry on Monday, the 6th July, and at Bally- cotton and Youghal on Tuesday, the 7th July, were held in circumstances which were bound to arouse very special interest. In the first place, they illustrated in a very striking manner the care with which the Committee of Management envisage the problems confronting them on every part of the coast. Here, where the Institution had already placed a powerful Motor Life- boat at Baltimore in 1913, a close examination of local conditions has led the Committee to provide three further Motor Life-boats of different types, ranging from the 51-foot Barnett type at Ballycotton, to the 35-foot Motor Life-boat at Youghal. At each Cere- mony, too, there was an instance of the cordial co-operation of the representa- tives of the Church of Ireland and of the Catholic Church. Indeed, at Court- macsherry and Ballycotton the Minister of the Church of Ireland was actually in the chair, but the dedication was carried out by the priests. At Youghal special dignity and importance was lent to the Ceremony by two circumstances: The Bishop of Cloyne, who is eighty-four years of age and in very feeble health, attended the Ceremony and dedicated the boat; and a happy touch was pro- vided by the fact that one of the two living Irish holders of the Gold Medal of the Institution, Father O'Shea, was found to be present, and, at my sug- gestion, spoke, and paid a high tribute to the value of the Life-boat Service and to the splendid part which Irish fisher- men had played in it.

Finally, at each Ceremony, President Cosgrave, the head of the Government, attended and gave a warm welcome to the Boats on behalf of the people of the Irish Free State, and Mrs. Cosgrave named them.

The combination of these circum- stances conspired to give to the three Ceremonies an impression of singular beauty and dignity, which will, I feel sure, live like music in the minds of the thousands of people, high and low, gentle and simple, who witnessed them.

The Institution was represented by Rear-Admiral T. P. H. Beamish, C.B~, M.P., himself a member for a coast constituency, Commander E. D. Drury, O.B.E., R.D., R.N.R., the Chief In- spector of Life-boats, and myself; and Lieut.-Commander Upton, R.N.R., the District Inspector for Ireland, and Mr.

H. G. Solomon, the District Organizing Secretary for Ireland—who has occupied this post for twenty-two years—were also present.

I have alluded to the fact that repre- sentatives of the Church of Ireland and of the Catholic Church co-operated in the three Ceremonies, and several speakers drew attention to the fact that this was perhaps the only platform on which differences of politics and creed could be entirely forgotten ; a fact of which the Institution's noble purpose has, happily, provided .several instances in the past ; for instance, when the Catholic Clergy and the Protestant Archbishop of Dublin were both present at the dedication, by the latter, of the Kingstown Boat in 1920, and when, in the same year, the Venerable Arch- deacon Becher presided at the Cere- mony at Baltimore, which was carried out by the Catholic Bishop of Boss, and when Father Young, the Honorary Secretary of the Station, received the Boat.

President Cosgrave's Appeal.

But perhaps the most notable feature of the three Ceremonies was the presence of President and Mrs. Cosgrave, and the strong appeal by the former to the people of the Free State to come for- ward generously in support of a Service which he described as humane and heroic at the same time, as one in which the Institution has been the pioneer among the nations of the world, and which is not only " National in the broadest sense of the word, but inter- national in its reach." To those with even a superficial acquaintance of the difficulties with which President Cos- grave is faced in guiding the ship of State through the reefs and dangers inci- dental to the birth of a new Dominion, the value of his frank appeal, delivered with simple eloquence, ringing with sincerity, is very great indeed. And the presence of Father Young, until lately the Honorary Secretary of the Balti- more Station, at Courtmacsherry, and of Father O'Shea at Yougha], served to emphasize the fact that, at several places on the coast, the Parish Priest, who is the spiritual guide and friend of the fishermen, is also the Honorary Secretary of the Station Branch of the Institution, a function which Dr. Camp- bell, the Parish Priest, has readily undertaken to carry out for the Insti- tution at Barra Island, Western Hebrides, where the Committee of Management have just established a new Station to provide additional security on the west coast of Scotland where, hitherto, there has been no Station all the way from Stornoway, on the Island of Lewis, to Campbeltown, nt the Mull of Cantyre.

At each of the three Stations a choir of women and children sang hymns, while at Courtmacsherry the Second Army Band of the Free State gave an admirable programme of music. There is no doubt that the presence of Admiral Beamish, who had connexions in Cork dating back for generations, contributed greatly to the success of the Ceremonies, and it will be gratifying to our friends at Ballycotton to know, as I have learnt since, that, while the new Court- macsherry and Youghal Boats are gifts from England, the Mary Stanford owes her name to a benefactor who originally lived, not in England, but in Co.

Galway, so that a legacy from an Irish source has, happily, been applied to an Irish Boat.

Perhaps, too, the fact that I, an English Catholic bearing an Irish name, have had the honour of being the Chief Officer of this great Institution for twenty-one years—surely a splendid proof of the generous outlook of the Committee of Management of a National Society—helped to create the atmo- sphere of enthusiastic cordiality which prevailed throughout.

Speaking with many years' experience of Inaugural Ceremonies, and with special appreciation of local conditions, I feel that these three Ceremonies were not only most successful in themselves, but were fraught with lasting benefit to the Life-boat Cause in the Free State ; perhaps even to a better understanding between the Irish people and England.

As I listened to the hymns sung by the women and children, and to the eloquent and deeply touching appeal of the aged Bishop of Cloyne, backed by an Irish priest who wore on his breast the Gold Medal of the Institution and the British Empire Silver Medal for Gal- lantry, awarded to him by H.M. the King in 1924,1 glimpsed for a moment a vision that this great Cause, embodying the ideals of service and self-sacrifice, even at the risk of death—a sacrifice in which Irish fishermen at Kingstown and Fethard have joined with their English brothers at Padstow, Salcombe, Rye and a score of other places, might be the means of bringing together North and South, and obliterating the bitter memories of mutual wrong in a common resolve to serve the cause of Ireland, of Britain and of humanity.

The Bishop of Cloyne's Letter.

On my return to England after the experiences of the two memorable days I felt that I must write to the Bishop of Cloyne, to express my thanks and my admiration for the generous effort which he made to attend the Ceremony Youghal. Here is my letter :— " My dear Lord Bishop, " I hope you will allow me to express to you, with the greatest respect, my deepest gratitude, both personal and official, for your great kindness in going to attend the Inaugural Ceremony a1 Youghal on Tuesday last. When I first ventured to approach you on the matter you warned me that you were suffering from very bad health, and were over 84 years of age, and that, in these circumstances, your wish to attend the Ceremony and to dedicate the Boat might be frustrated, but that, in that case, you would ask Canon O'Donoghue to act for you.

" I cannot tell you how much touched I was to find you coming, at considerable risk and, in any case, with much discomfort, to give us the benefit of your presence and blessing on this occasion. When I proposed the Vote of Thanks to yourself and President and Mrs. Cosgrave I little thought that you yourself would reply. When you did so, your address was so moving in its tribute of admiration to the Service and in your appeal to Irish men and women to recognize the great claims of the Institution and to support it that I feel that your words will go ringing through Ireland, and will reach many a mind and heart which had, perhaps, never" till now heard of the Life-boat Service, still less had recognized the heroism, humanity and self-sacrifice of the brave, simple and God-fearing men who form our Crews all round the coast of Ireland, and, indeed, of England, Scotland and Wales as well.

" I am, with great respect and gratitude, " Yours sincerely, " (Signed) GEORGE SHEE, "Secretary." Here is the Bishop's reply :—• " My dear Sir George Shee, " I cannot, in very truth, find words in which to thank you suitably for your letter of unmerited praise for my presence and few words at the meeting of the ' National Life-boat Institution' at Youghal on Tuesday, the 7th of July.

" I candidly assure you that I re- garded the purpose and object of your meeting to be of so great importance that, notwithstanding my great old age and attendant infirmities, I could not reconcile myself to absence from it.

You have brought joy to my old heart by your high appreciation of the little I did for so noble a cause.

" With every best wish, " Yours gratefully, " (Signed) EGBERT BROWNE, "Bishop of Cloyne." I confess that the sweet humility of these words, coming to me from an old man, holding so high an office of spiritual authority, gave me a lump in my throat.

The Three Stations.

I append particulars of the Life- boats and Stations and an account of the Ceremonies based upon reports in the Irish Press, which, both before and after the Ceremonies, and in its news columns and picture pages, gave most generous publicity to them.

Courtmacsherry, the first Life-boat Station on the coast of County Cork, was established by the Institution in 1825, tie year after its own foundation ; Baltimore was provided with a Motor Life-boat in 1919, and the county has four Stations, all now equipped with Motor Life-boats. The county has a record of 183 lives rescued from ship- wreck : Courtmacsherry (established 1825), 39 lives ; Youghal (established 1857), 64 lives; Ballycotton (established 1858), 80 lives ; and Queenstown (estab- lished 1866, closed 1920) 13 lives. So far Baltimore (established 1913) has saved no lives.

The three Motor Life-boats built for the three new Stations are of different types. Ballycotton has been provided with a Boat of the most powerful type which the Institution is now building, the Barnett (Stromness) Cabin type. She is 51 feet by 13 feet 6 inches, with a displacement of 26 J tons. She is divided into eight watertight compartment ,and has 160 air-cases; is fitted with a search- light, line-throwing gun, and sprays for pouring oil on the waves. She can take 100 people on board in rough weather, and is driven by two 60 h.p. engines, giving her a maximum speed of nearly 9 knots. She carries enough petrol to travel 120 miles at full speed.

The Courtmacsherry Boat is one of the 45 feet 6 inches Watson Cabin type (described on p. 330), and the Boat at Youghal is one of the new light Self- righting Motor Life-boats (described on p. 332).

The Ballycotton Boat is the third to be built out of a legacy received just fifty years ago from the late Mr.

J. F. Stanford, of London, whose family belonged to County Galway.

The other two Boats built out of this legacy were stationed at Rye, Sussex.

The Courtmacsherry Boat has been built out of a legacy from the late Mr.

William Crosweller, of Sidcup, Kent, and the Youghal Boat is one of two built out of a legacy from the late Dr.

Vernon Blunt, of Birmingham. The other has also been stationed on the Irish coast, at Clogher Head, Co. Louth, where the Inaugural Ceremony took place on 22nd September.

Courtmacsherry Harbour.

The first of the three Ceremonies was that at Courtmacsherry on 6th July.

The Rev. W. E. White presided, sup- ported, among others, by the Lord Mayor of Cork, and after the singing of the " Veni, Creator Spiritus " and " Ave Maria," accompanied by the Second Army Band, Commander Drury described the Life-boat. She was then formally presented to the Branch by Admiral Beamish, who paid a tribute to the Life-boatmen, Coast Life-saving Service and fishermen of County Cork.

The Boat was received by Mr. Frank Ruddock, the Honorary Secretary of the Branch, and dedicated by the Rev.

Father Jeremiah Burke, P.P., and the Rev. Father John J. Sheehy, C.C. It is particularly interesting to record that Father Burke's dedication of the Life-boat was his last act in Ireland before leaving for Canada, that very afternoon, to undertake a mission entrusted to him in that Dominion.

The dedication was followed by the hymn " Hail, Queen of Heaven," and Mrs. Cosgrave then named the Life- boat, saying, " I name this Life-boat Sarah Ward and William David Cros- weller, and I pray that she may go on her errand of mercy with the blessing of Almighty God and the good wishes of the Irish people." PRESIDENT COSGRAVE'S SPEECH.

President Cosgrave then welcomed the Life-boat in the name of the Irish people. He said : " It is a great pleasure to me to express to the Institution, on behalf of the people of the Irish Free State, their warm thanks for the careful consideration which the Institution continues to give to the needs of our beautiful, but dangerous, coasts, and also to be present to welcome the three new Motor Life- boats which have been placed on the coast of Co. Cork, a fact which gives this county the unique distinction of being protected entirely by Motor Life-boats.

" The Government of An Saorstat maintains fifty-three Rocket Apparatus Stations on the Irish coast, each worked by volunteer companies, and I am happy to learn that the closest co- operation and harmony exists between the Coast Life-saving Service and the Life-boat Institution. (Applause.) "During the three years ended 31st December last only eight lives had been lost through shipwreck on the Irish coast, although 1,759 lives had been in danger. These figures show the won- derful efficiency of those who are responsible for life saving on our coast.

" From the date of the establishment of the Irish Free State the Institution, which has provided and maintained the Life-boat Service all round the 5,000 miles of Great Britain and Ireland for 107 years past, inquired whether the Government of An Saorstat would wish the Institution to continue this great Service, humane and heroic at the same time. I need not say that the Government gladly availed themselves of the offer to place at the disposal of our people the unique experience and the great record of achievement which the Institution has made its own. It was the pioneer of the Life-boat Services of the world. (Cheers.) " Not long after the Institution accepted our invitation, I had the pleasure of presenting the decorations which the Institution had awarded to some brave men in County Galway in connexion with a service to two trawlers which were wrecked off that coast, and, arising out of that disaster, and an appeal made in the County Galway, the Institution placed a fine Motor Life- boat at Aran Island, which is greatly appreciated by the local fishermen and the crews of other vessels passing in and out of Galway, which, as you know, has now become a port of call for Ameri- can liners. .It is gratifying to me to know that at Kilronan, Aran Islands, as at Baltimore, on the coast of this county, the Honorary Secretary of the Life-boat is one of the priests of the parish.

" On behalf of the people of this country I wish to pay a warm tribute to the splendid work done by the Life- boat Institution in providing and main- taining the Life-boat Service, and also to the heroic work done by the Crews.

It is work that is not only national in the broadest sense of the word, but it is international in its reach, so that the Services rendered by Irish Crews are gratefully recognized in many a far country with a seaboard, whose nationals owe their safety to the courage and self- sacrifice of our Crews.

" I am glad to feel that the support given to the Institution in Ireland is increasing, and I feel sure it will con- tinue to grow as the people become better able to appreciate the Service ; so that in due course we shall be able to claim that, if we cannot supply in our country the capital required to provide the magnificent Motor Life-boats of the Institution, or to build the Boat Houses and Slipways required in order to ensure their highest efficiency, we shall at least be able to claim that we can maintain the Boats on our coasts. (Hear, hear.) " To do so and to provide rewards to the Crews, compensation to those injured in the service, and pensions to the widows and orphans of those who may lose their lives in the efforts to save others on our coast, amounts to about £10,000 a year. Last year £6,500 was raised by voluntary sub scriptions from our citizens, and I hope that in future years the Life-boat Institution may receive greater support.

" We are very pleased to welcome here Rear-Admiral Beamish, M.P., a member of the Committee of Manage- ment, and a seaman, who is better able than most of us to appreciate at its full value the wonderful work of the Life- boat Crews.

" We also welcome Sir George Shee, the Secretary of the Institution, who, I am sorry to hear, is retiring in Sep- tember, after twenty-one years' service.

His name suggests an Irish origin, and I should not be surprised to hear that one of his ancestors was an Irishman.

(Laughter.) I understand that during his term of office the expenditure of the Institution, largely in connexion with the transformation of the fleet from one of Pulling and Sailing Life- boats to one of Motor Life-boats, has increased from about £100,000 to £300,000, and it is gratifying to know that he has been able to organize the appeals on behalf of the Cause so as to provide the sums required. I am sure we shall all join in wishing him much happiness in his retirement. (Ap- plause.) " In coming here to be present at the Inaugural Ceremony of this Boat, which Mrs. Cosgrave is very pleased to name, as she will name the Boats at Bally- cotton and Youghal to-morrow, I feel that we are paying a tribute to one of the noblest causes that has ever been dedi- cated to the service of mankind, a cause which, therefore, I cordially recommend to the generosity of every man, woman and child in this country, and especially in this county." (Loud applause.) Sir George Shee then presented the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum awarded to the Rev. Father Young, late Honorary Secretary of the Balti- more Station.

The following resolution was pro- posed by Mr. T. Sheehy, T.D., and seconded by Dr. P. L. O'Driscoll :•—• " That this county greatly appre- elates the action of the Royal National Life-boat Institution in placing this Motor Life-boat at Courtmacsherry, and pledges itself to use every endeavour to increase the interest in the heroic work of the Life-boatmen on this coast and thereby to raise the sum required (£2,000) to maintain the four Motor Life-boat Stations on the coast of Cork." A Vote of Thanks to President and Mrs. Cosgrave was proposed by Sir George Shee, and seconded by Mr. T. J.

Murphy, T.D. A Vote of Thanks to Rear-Admiral Beamish and Sir George Shee was proposed by Mr. J. Traver Wolf, T.D., and seconded by Mr. T. J.

O'Donovan, T.D., and a Vote of Thanks to the Chairman was proposed by Mr.

Herbert G. Solomon, the District Organizing Secretary, and seconded by the Rev. Father Sheehy, C.C.

Ballycotton.

The second of the three Ceremonies took place on the following morning at Ballycotton. The Very Rev. W. J.

Wilson, M.A., Dean of Cloyne, Chairman of the Branch, presided, and the Cere- mony was the same as at Courtmac- sherry. Rear-Admiral Beamish pre- sented the Life-boat to the Branch, and in doing so referred to the wonderful success of the Ballycotton Branch in raising funds for the Institution, unsur- passed by any Station on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. Although Ballycotton only had a population of 446 people, the Branch had sixty annual subscribers last year, carried out six different kinds of effort for raising money, and collected £132, or nearly 6s. per head of its population. Such a record was an example to every Branch in the British Isles. It was due in very great measure to the fact that the Branch had in the Dean of Cloyne a great and energetic Chairman, and in Mr. W. H. Garde an Honorary Secre- tary whose zeal was proof both against ill-health and advancing years.

Mr. R. H. Mahony, the Assistant Honorary Secretary, received the Life- boat, and she was dedicated by the Rev.

Father Aherne, C.C.

PRESIDENT COSGEAVE'S SPEECH.

President Cosgrave then welcomed the Boat in the name of the people of the Irish Free State. In the course of his speech he said : " The Life-boat Institution is a body which deserves well of manhood the world over—(ap- plause)—and certainly we should be failing in our duty if we did not realize to the full how much we owe to those who control that body for having provided such a splendid Boat for Ballycotton. . . . All honour to the Life-boatmen for the work they do, and all honour to the Institution which provides for them the safest possible means for doing the work ; and to the Crew and to the Boat long life, good service, and every support that is possible from the people in that work." (Loud applause.) Mrs. Cosgrave then named the Life- boat Mary Stanford.

The same Resolution pledging the county to increase its support, and the same Votes of Thanks were passed as at Courtmacsherry, among the speakers being Mr. J. F. Connolly, P.C., Mr.

Brook Brazier, P.C., M.C.C., Mr. H. P.

F. Donegan, the Honorary Secretary of the Cork Branch, to whom the Institu- tion owes a great debt for the keen interest he has always taken in pro- moting the efficiency of the Service on the Irish coast and for his indefatigable work on behalf of the cause in the City and County of Cork; Mr. John J.

Horgan, Chairman of the Cork Branch ; Mr. B. O'Regan and Mr. P. O'Driscoll.

Youghal.

The same Ceremony took place at Youghal as at the other two Stations.

Mr. J. Smith, Chairman of the Urban District Council, presided, supported, among others, by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Cork. The Life-boat was formally presented to the Branch by Rear-Admiral Beamish, and was received by Colonel H. S. Roch, C.M.G., C.B.E., D.S.O., the President of the Branch.

The Lord Bishop of Cloyne (the Most Rev. Dr. Browne), one of the Patrons of the City of Cork Branch, assisted by Canon O'Donoghue, P.P., then dedi- cated the Life-boat. President Cos- grave welcomed her on behalf of the Irish people, again expressing their gratitude to the Institution, and assuring it that the people would respond to its appeal for increased support, and Mrs.

Cosgrave named the Life-boat Laurana Sarah Blunt.

A Vote of Thanks to the Bishop and to President and Mrs. Cosgrave was pro- posed by Sir George Shee and seconded by Mr. J. L. Keane.

THE BISHOP'S ADDRESS.

In replying to this Vote the Bishop of Cloyne said : " It is a privilege to be asked to attend this Ceremony for the grand purpose of blessing a Life-boat.

It is a pleasure to me as I move among my people, especially in the country parishes, to meet there splendid, honest, truthful, sober workmen, but at this Ceremony we are dealing with a very special class of workman—men who are not merely honest and good and hard- working, but who are, in the highest sense of the word- -heroes. (Applause.) " Surely if there is a profession of heroism, it is by eminence the vocation of a Life-boatman. The Holy Father has sent a most special blessing to the sailors of the Life-boats, and in the countries in which Lite-boats are main- tained, there is not a Bishop or an Arch- bishop or a Cardinal who has not blessed these men. It is a glorious— a wonderful mission. ' Greater love than this no man hath than that he should lay down his life for his friend.' The man who gives his life in war in trying to kill the enemy of his country is brave. But how much braver is the man who has not such a motive, but is prepared to lay down his life for a man in danger ! We see for ourselves what these men have to do, and there is no need to speak of our obligations to them. The support of these men is a duty upon everybody, rich or poor.

I urge you all to contribute according to your means." (Applause.) The same Resolution and the same Votes of Thanks were passed as at the other two Ceremonies, among the speakers being Mr. W. Broderick, Chairman of the Cork County Council; Mr. Justice Condon, the Rev. D. W.

Darling, Mr. J. J. Horgan, Chairman of the Cork Branch ; the Rev. Father O'Shea, who won the Institution's Gold Medal in 1911 for conspicuous gallantry; and Mr. J. H. Long, who won the Institution's Silver Medal in 1894..