Model lifeboat and painting presented to Lough Ree RNLI
Lough Ree RNLI's volunteer crew were the recipients of a number of personalised gifts from a great supporter at a presentation yesterday afternoon (Sunday 4 July).
Limerick man Mark Conway (43) visited Athlone with his friend Tommy Corbett and key worker Ivana Kottesova. The creative artist who has honed his skills with the Brothers of Charity in the Treaty City had earlier this year contacted then Lifeboat Operations Manager Tony McCarth to offer the replica as a gift to the station.
At a special ceremony at the Lough Ree RNLI boathouse at Coosan Point, Athlone Mr. Conway met Tony McCarth, Lifeboat Operations Manager Jude Kilmartin, Treasurer Vincent Rafter and members of the crew and their families and presented his metre long model of an RNLI lifeboat. During the visit Mark had another surprise in store when he also presented a painting of a lifeboat which was also his own work.
A great supporter of the RNLI Mr. Conway’s key worker Ivana Kottesova said: ‘Mark has already made presentations to the RNLI at Lough Derg, Kilrush, Courtmacsherry and Kinsale and hopes eventually to visit all RNLI lifeboat stations on the island. Lough Ree RNLI Operations Manager Jude Kilmartin expressed the charity’s gratitude for the presentation and said he ‘looked forward to displaying the art in a place of prominence in the new RNLI boathouse’, which is on schedule for completion later this year.
During the weekend trip to Athlone the Limerick visitors were guests of Viking Boat Tours for an afternoon on the River Shannon and Lough Ree which they thoroughly enjoyed.
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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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