Renowned Mary Stanford lifeboat back at spiritual home

The first lifeboat to receive an award for bravery for its role in one of Ireland’s most daring sea rescues has been returned to its spiritual home.

The Mary Stanford, saved earlier this year from being scuttled, has been installed on a scenic display plinth overlooking Ballycotton Bay in East Cork, from where she sailed into history almost a century ago.

The complex operation to transport the almost 30-tonne vessel from a warehouse in Midleton to the fishing village’s famous cliff walk passed off without a hitch over the weekend.