‘Courtmacsherry RNLI: 200 years of saving lives at sea’ by Micheál Hurley, Jim Crowley and Diarmuid O’Mahony (Courtmacsherry RNLI) & ‘A brief history of the Irish Coast Guard – 1822-2024’ by Niall Ferns (Irish Coast Guard)

To mark the bi-centenary of both the RNLI and the Irish Coast Guard, our next event will feature the following joint lectures.

The RNLI was founded by Sir William Hillary in 1824. The Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat Station along with the RNLI Lifeboat Station at Arklow were the first to be set up in Ireland in 1825. Micheál Hurley, a crew member for 44 years, will present the history of Courtmacsherry Lifeboat. He served in various roles over the years and still continues his involvement in various voluntary roles. He recently wrote the book ‘Home from the Sea: the Story of Courtmacsherry Lifeboat 1825-2023’. He will be assisted by Diarmuid O Mahony, who has given 61 years of voluntary service to Courtmacsherry Lifeboat, and Jim Crowley who served for decades as a Crewperson and Second Coxswain and is a noted historian on the RNLI and its involvement at Courtmacsherry.

The second talk, presented by Niall Ferns, will take us on a brief journey through the history of the Irish Coast Guard from the British Coastguard Act of 1822, to our independence and the establishment of our Coast Life Saving Service in 1924. Niall has been a member of the Irish Coast Guard for 44 years having joined the Greystones Coast Guard unit in 1980 and served as a volunteer for 29 years, 19 of which was as Officer in Charge.

Please note the starting time is 8.30pm.

Cover charge of €5.