LIFEBOAT OPERATIONS MANAGER | DUN LAOGHAIRE
I was picked up by a lifeboat in 1970 when I was 12 and I joined the crew in 1975, so that’s about 40 years. I try to attend most shouts. It’s important to be there when the lads get back, to thank them. If there’s anything I can do to help shoreside, I’ll get involved. On that night I was liaising with my opposite number in Howth, Colm Newport, to make sure that our lifeboat would get the appropriate assistance. The crew are trained for this, but it doesn’t make getting up at 3am any easier. What impresses me each time is that the crew don’t know what they’re assembling for, or how long they’re going to be out. They’ll turn up to do the job, and that’s been unchanged in all the time I’ve been around.