Galway lifeboat stations mark the RNLI 200 year anniversary

Throughout this bicentenary year, the RNLI and volunteers throughout Ireland and the UK have been running events and activities to remember the charity’s important history and celebrate the modern lifesaving service it is today, while also hoping to inspire generations of future lifesavers and supporters.

As the RNLI was founded in 1824, the date and time 1 August 2024 (1.8.24) at 18:24 was chosen as a time for crews to gather at their lifeboat stations and celebrate the 200 year anniversary as part of ‘One Moment One Crew’.

Rob King, Area Operations Manager for the RNLI in the West, who is based in Clifden said: ‘This year the RNLI is celebrating 200 years of lifesaving at sea. It’s a story that began with an appeal asking for help to protect lifeboat volunteers, as they protected people from drowning. It was a radical concept at the time – the idea that like-minded people would unite in their determination to save lives at sea by sending support to people they would never meet. But it worked. The RNLI’s story is one of courage, but thanks to all the supporters, it’s also a story of kindness.

‘While innovations and developments in technology over the course of 200 years have changed how our crews save lives, some things have remained the same. The volunteering ethos at the heart of the RNLI is what makes the charity so special along with the incredible support from our local communities and the generous donations of so many which continue to power the RNLI’s lifesaving.

‘Today the RNLI provides a 24 hour search and rescue service around Ireland the UK and up to 100 nautical miles offshore. Across the island of Ireland this includes 46 operational lifeboat stations with 62 lifeboats – 26 all-weather lifeboats and 36 inshore lifeboats. Last year, the crews from the three lifeboat stations in County Galway launched 98 times in 2023 and aided 92 people.’

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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 142,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

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.