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Rosslare Harbour RNLI sign 200th anniversary Scroll with local GAA legend

Lifeboats News Release

Rosslare Harbour RNLI is one of the latest lifeboat stations to be part of ‘Connecting our Communities’ for the search and rescue charity’s 200th anniversary.

Liam Griffin signs the scroll

RNLI/Larry Dunne

Liam Griffin signs the scroll

The event sees a specially commissioned scroll travelling through RNLI communities, to be signed by representatives at each location. The Rosslare Harbour stop was a special one, as it was here that the RNLI choose to honour the charity’s life-saving partnership with the GAA, by having Wexford legend, Liam Griffin, former Wexford hurler and manager, sign the scroll on behalf of the GAA. The two organisations have been working together for a number of years to bring water safety messages to young people across Ireland and reduce drowning.

The scroll carries the RNLI pledge, which reads: ‘Whoever we are, wherever we are from, we are one crew, ready to save lives. We’re powered by passion, talent and kindness, like generations of selfless lifesavers before us. This is our watch, we lead the way, valuing each other, trusting each other, depending on one another, volunteering to face the storm together. Knowing that, with courage, nothing is impossible. That is what has always driven us to save every one we can. It's what makes every one of us a lifesaver.’

Beneath the pledge, printed in seven languages (English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Manx, and Cornish), states: ‘Signed in 2024 by representatives of the RNLI’s lifesaving communities, on behalf of all who strive to save every one.’

Over the course of seven months, the five-metre-long scroll will pass through 240 RNLI locations around Ireland and the UK before finishing its journey on the Isle of Man, which was home to the RNLI’s founder, Sir William Hillary.

The scroll has been made bespoke by RNLI craftspeople using materials of significance to the charity. The wooden handle has been made by a carpenter from the RNLI’s All-weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole (where the charity builds and maintains its all-weather lifeboats), using wood from an old flagpole from a lifeboat station. Apprentices from the RNLI’s Inshore Lifeboat Centre have made the protective fibreglass casing and set the scroll spindles and accessories into the case.

Commenting on the signing, Rosslare Harbour RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Jamie Ryan said, ‘We are delighted to be part of such a significant event for the RNLI’s 200th year saving lives at sea. This scroll is a snapshot in time where lifeboat crew and fundraisers came together to acknowledge the incredible contribution of all the generations that came before us and hopefully for all that will come after us, in saving lives and serving our community. For 200 years, people have made the RNLI what it is, from lifeboat crew who have battled in all weathers to save others, to the committed fundraisers and generous donors who fund our lifesaving work.’

To honour the work of drowning prevention and saving lives through education, Rosslare native and GAA legend Liam Griffin also added his name to the scroll, to recognise the charity partnership with the GAA.

Commenting on his support for the partnership and the honour of signing the scroll, Liam Griffin added, ‘I’m very proud that the GAA and the RNLI have come together to save lives. This is also the place where the GAA was first involved with the lifeboats, as our community received All-Ireland medals for a rescue in 1914 of the Mexico, where twelve lives were saved and sadly ten lives lost, including nine lifeboat crew from Fethard. The partnership is a reflection of the community. The RNLI is all over Ireland and the GAA is all over Ireland and anything that would save people from drowning is a great initiative.’

‘Dickie Walsh, a very famous former Coxswain in Rosslare said to me when I was a young man, ‘If you don’t respect the sea, you won’t win’ and I never forgot that.’

The scroll was signed by Jamie Ryan, Rosslare Harbour RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, Trish Kavanagh, on behalf of the fundraisers and Keith Miller on behalf of the crew. Liam Griffin, signed on behalf of the Gaelic Athletic Association.

Ends

Signatories of the scroll: Keith Miller, Trish Kavanagh. Jamie Ryan. Liam Griffin.

RNLI/Larry Dunne

Signatories of the scroll: Keith Miller, Trish Kavanagh. Jamie Ryan. Liam Griffin.

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.

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.

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