Words: Anna Burn. Photos: DTH, Naomi Miller, RNLI/(Howth, Larne, Nigel Millard)

Welcome to your community news for Ireland. For all the latest from where you are, head to RNLI.org/news

Cork

Foodie fundraisers

A black-tie dinner in aid of the RNLI, with each course prepared by a different celebrity chef? Yes please! Hosted by the Metropole Hotel in Cork during the Cork Oyster and Seafood Festival, the event saw Chefs Derry Clarke (pictured), Simon Lamont (The Lazy Chef), Bryan McCarthy (Greenes Restaurant), Patrick McMurray from Toronto, Martin O’Mahony (Cork International Hotel) and Rachid Zaouia cook up a lifesaving storm. Aaron Mansworth, Group General Manager for Trigon Hotels, says: ‘The event is our small way of saying thank you.’

Larne

Students raise £1,000

Larne Lifeboat Station’s Fundraising Secretary Esther Dorman and Mechanic Derek Rea have visited Larne Grammar School to thank them for their fantastic fundraising efforts. Year 8 pupils chose to fundraise for the RNLI in 2018, raising over £1,000 through a variety of initiatives. Larne volunteers – some of whom are former pupils of the school or parents of current pupils – are thrilled to receive the lifesaving support of these community-minded young people.

Sligo

Life cycle

In June, Naomi Miller and her colleague Alan Whitehead, both South- Western Ambulance Service paramedics from the UK, completed a cycle from Sligo to Dublin in memory of the crew of Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue 116, raising money for the RNLI and Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team. ‘I was devastated by what happened,’ Naomi recalls. ‘I think it really resonates with emergency service workers. We want to honour their memory.’ With support from Captain Dara Fitzpatrick’s family, the pair raised £6,582.

Lough Derg

FOR THOSE IN PERIL

Our Jean Spier will signal those in peril, or in strife, that we her volunteers may do our work – carry home, save a life.’ These poignant words, written by Eleanor Hooker, poet and volunteer Helm at Lough Derg, marked a day of remembrance and hope in November when the station got a new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat. Robert Spier and his late wife Jean – active supporters of the RNLI – intended to donate the new lifeboat together, but Jean died in October 2017. Speaking at the ceremony, Lifeboat Operations Manager Liam Maloney said: ‘How proud we are to get this state-of-the-art lifeboat for our station. And how grateful and humbled we are by the extremely generous gift from you, Robert, and your late wife Jean.’

Dublin

1,000K All in a Row

All in a Row was established by the rowing community along the east coast in 2016 to support local charities. In December, the group gathered on the River Liffey to raise funds for the RNLI and the Irish Underwater Search and Recovery Unit. The teams were cheered on by supporters including the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and poet Theo Dorgan who read his poem Lifeboat. Dorgan, a keen sailor, says: ‘Each time I donate to an RNLI collection I feel like I’m taking out insurance!’ The colourful flotilla, which included over 40 skiffs, kayaks, canoes, dragon boats and currachs, took just 8 hours to smash their target of 1,000km, and had raised €8,629 at the time of writing.

WHAT’S ON

Mayday events will be happening around Ireland in May.
Visit RNLI.org/mayday to get involved.

CYCLE AROUND THE LOUGH
Sunday 28 April
The Bounty Bar, Buccaneers Rugby Club, Lough Ree Take a lap of Ireland from the inside and help raise money to save lives at sea. Entry €20; visit facebook.com/LoughReeRNLI or contact [email protected].

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