Clifden RNLI to bring their new Launch a Memory lifeboat home with 10,000 names
A new all-weather RNLI Shannon class lifeboat is on its way home to its permanent base at Clifden in Connemara, where it will save lives off the west coast of Ireland.
Event: Arrival of the Clifden RNLI ‘Launch a Memory’ Lifeboat St Christopher
Venue: Clifden beach (at the back of the Lifeboat Station), Clifden, County Galway between 9.30am and 12.30pm
Date/time: 9.30am – 12.30 Sunday 15 May 2022
All welcome
The lifeboat is a special one in the Irish fleet as it carries the names of over 10,000 people onboard, put there by members of the public through a special fundraising initiative which was run by the search and rescue charity back in 2020.
The lifeboat is due to arrive at Clifden next weekend (Saturday 14 / Sunday 15 May) with an opportunity for the public to get up close to the lifeboat on the Sunday morning at low tide when the vessel crew will be beached at the back of the lifeboat station on Clifden beach.
Clifden RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew have left Ireland for Poole in Dorset, to collect their new lifeboat and will be bringing it home with stopovers in Plymouth, Penlee, Ballycotton, Kinsale and Valentia. They are due to arrive in Clifden on Saturday 14 May at 2.30pm where the boat will be accompanied into the harbour by a local flotilla. On Sunday 15 May, the public are being invited to view the new lifeboat on Clifden beach at low tide from 9.30am until 12.30pm.
Through the ‘Launch a Memory’ campaign, people were able to record a loved one’s name on the lifeboat by making a donation to the RNLI and submitting a loved one’s name to be recorded onboard. The name of each person features within the lifeboat’s letters (RNLI) and numbers of the lifeboat.
Commenting on the arrival, Clifden RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager John Brittain said, ‘We have been working towards this day for a long time. It is an honour for us to carry these 10,000 names onboard our new lifeboat the
St Christopher. Every time we launch, they will accompany the lifeboat crew on its lifesaving mission. We hope to welcome our supporters and members of the public down to see the new lifeboat on the Sunday (15 May) where they can get up close to the vessel and if they have a loved one onboard, they can see where the name is recorded. I know there are many incredibly moving stories behind each name and we hope to do them all proud.’
Information on the campaign including a search tool to find where a particular name is placed on the lifeboat, is available on the RNLI website at this address
https://rnli.org/support-us/give-money/donate-in-memory/launch-a-memory/clifden-updates
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RNLI media contacts
For information please contact Niamh Stephenson, RNLI Regional Media Manager Tel: 00353 87 1254 124 email: [email protected] or Nuala McAloon, RNLI Regional Media Officer Tel: 00353 87 648 3547 email: [email protected] or Mella Walsh, Clifden RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 0897025993, email [email protected]
Key facts about the RNLI
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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.