This article is from page 11 of the 2011-05-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
THE courage of the brave crew of the Kilrush lifeboat was acknowledged at the weekend when the RNLI picked their station to receive a new lifeboat.
And a woman who deeply admired the bravery of lifeboat crews will now always be remembered in the Clare town after the new boat was named for her.
The Edith Louise Eastwick was blessed and launched for her maiden voyage at the weekend having been bought with money left by a Baroness in her will.
Baroness Majorie Von Schlippenbach passed away in April 2003 and left the money with the stipulation that the boat which her legacy bought would be named after her late mother.
As a child, the Baroness lived in Eastbourne, where her mother often told her the story of a lifeboat of the local RNLI, which had been funded by a friend. Whenever she saw the boat Mrs Eastwick would tell her daughter of the life-saving service which the lifeboat crews provided.
Accepting the Atlantic 85 lifeboat in Kilrush, Lifeboat Operations Manager John Lambe said, “We are extremely grateful to the Baroness for her gener- osity in funding our new lifeboat and to Tom MacSweeney for officially naming her. On behalf of our crew, station management and fundraisers here in Kilrush, I offer my sincere thanks. This lifeboat is the vessel that will carry our volunteer crew out to sea and on it they will save lives.”
Speaking to The Clare People , Pauline Dunleavy, Station Officer at Kilrush, said it is “a fantastic vote of confidence in the station here by the RNLI to give us this new boat. We’re just a small station but we’re absolutely thrilled to have the Edith Louise Eastwick.”
RNLI trustee John Coyle said that there is “not a day goes by without our volunteers risking their lives to save others. And let us not forget the sheer hard work and ability of our fundraisers. To raise essential funds in challenging times never ceases to amaze me.”
Maritime journalist Tom McSweeney performed the naming. He told the gathering that “working in the national media, I am aware that not every call for help [at sea] makes headlines but I know that each time a lifeboat launches the crew set out in the knowledge that they may have to use their training to deal with the most challenging of rescues.”