Lifeboat to join Kilrush service

VOLUNTEERS at Co Clare’s only coastal RNLI station have received a new state-of-the-art lifeboat which will enter service this weekend.

The planned purchase and delivery of the new Atlantic 85 B Class lifeboat had been signalled by RNLI chief executive Andrew Freemantle on a visit to Kilrush last year shortly before he retired.

The latest model in rigid inflatable inshore lifeboats arrived in the west of the county on Tuesday night.

Crews have been undertaking intensive day and night training exercises to familiarise themselves with the €150,000 rescue vessel before it begins service.

The Atlantic 85 RIB is not only bigger and more powerful than Kilrush’s existing craft, but it also fitted with the latest search and rescue technology and instrumentation, equipping the service to continue saving lives into the next generation.

Kilrush is one of only two stations in Ireland and Britain which will receive such an upgrade this year.

Kilrush lifeboat operations manager John Lamb said: “This is a great vote of confidence in the crew here at Kilrush.”