‘Great day’ for fishing village as trial lifeboat service launched

A new lifeboat service went ‘live’ yesterday in a fishing village touched by one of the worst sea tragedies of recent years.

The RNLI officially put on service the Union Hall lifeboat station in West Cork — its 45th station in Ireland — marking the start of a two-year trial period.

The boat, Maritime Nation, which has come from the existing RNLI relief fleet and which was previously on service in Galway City, Red Bay in Co Antrim and Crosshaven in Cork, is now a declared search and rescue asset of the RNLI.

The B-class Atlantic 75 lifeboat will operate from temporary station facilities at Union Hall’s Keelbeg Pier, launching from a slipway next to the pier.

It will cover about eight miles west and 14 miles east of the greater Glandore Bay area. The station is flanked by Courtmacsherry RNLI to the east and Baltimore RNLI to the west.

The RNLI said following its two-year trial, a decision will be made on whether to establish a permanent station in Union Hall.

The drowning of five men in the 2012 Tit Bonhomme trawler tragedy at the mouth of Glandore Bay prompted a concerted local campaign to secure a lifeboat service in Union Hall.

Representations were made to the RNLI in February 2013, and following several meetings, sanction was given to establish a two-year trial service.

Lifeboat operations manager, John Kelleher, said it was a great day for everyone involved.

“For years, the community in Union Hall and the surrounding areas of West Cork have supported the RNLI with street collections and various fundraising events,” he said.

“Even though we did not have a station in Union Hall, we knew how important it was to have the lifeboat service in Ireland.

“The late Joe Regan, a former mechanic at Baltimore RNLI and former chairman of the Union Hall Fundraising Committee started things rolling many years ago before others in the community took up the challenge.

“We received great support and encouragement from everyone involved with the RNLI at both Swords and Poole. To see this group of volunteers coming together and training with the lifeboat and now going on service is a proud day for me.”

RNLI divisional operations manager, Ronan Boyle, wished the team well. “I am delighted that Union Hall now the opportunity to demonstrate the utility of a lifeboat in this location for the trial period of two years.”

Local heroes

Sixteen people — including two brothers — have volunteered to crew the new Union Hall lifeboat station and lifeboat.

Castlehaven GAA club members Shane and Stephen Hurley are among those who will respond at a moment’s notice, to save lives at sea. The other volunteers are drawn from a variety of backgrounds, including a civil engineer, a garda, and a fireman.

The station also has one female crew member, Carla Nugent.

They have spent months undergoing the RNLI’s intensive lifeboat training programme which included courses at Union Hall, and at the training college in Poole.