Ireland - Historical South Coast

We woke on day two of our three-week trip to glorious sunshine overlooking Dungarvan Bay. We were just a short drive from the Lifeboat Station at Helvick Head and so after breakfast we headed down to the station.

Helvick Head and Dungarvan Lifeboat Station

Unfortunately, no one was available to meet us but it was Monday morning and we never take for granted that anyone will be available as they are all volunteers. We took our evidence photos and looked around the outside of the impressive station building.

The first lifeboat station covering the bay was established in 1859 on the north side of the bay. In 1900 the station was moved to the south side with a new station and slipway. In 1969 the offshore lifeboat was withdrawn and the station closed. In 1997 the station was reopened and the current boathouse completed in 1999 to house an inshore Atlantic 75.

Their B-Class was moored alongside the pier and so we walked along to take a photo from above as it was low tide. B-874, Robert Armstrong joined the station in 2014 and is normally launched on a carriage from the boat house.

After waiting a little while in case anyone arrived, we headed into County Cork, the largest county in Ireland and blessed with 8 lifeboat stations along its rugged coast. Our next stop was at a busy little town called Youghal.

Now we have learnt a lot about place names on this challenge and come to realise that the way some names are pronounced bear no relation to the way they are spelt. Yougal was one of those places. It is not called “U-GAL” it is pronounced “YOWEL”. Who would have thought!

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We had arrived a little early so parked the car and took a stroll around the beautiful little town with its ancient clock tower and colourful buildings. We enjoyed a lovely cup of tea in the sunshine before heading across the road to the station.

Youghal Lifeboat Station

We were greeted outside of the station by Rhonda, Mary, John, and Mark who welcomed us into the station where other crew members had taken time out of their Monday to come and see us. More tea and biscuits were served overlooking a stunning view from the station balcony of the River Blackwater Estuary. We had a fantastic discussion with the crew and learnt a lot about the area and the lifeboat. We were given an excellent tour of the station and the boat house.

A lifeboat station was established in the historic town in 1839 by the local harbour trust. The RNLI took over the station in 1857 with a new building until 1984 when the offshore lifeboat was replaced by an Atlantic 21 inshore lifeboat. The station was upgraded in 2002 to accommodate the larger Atlantic 75 and subsequently their current Atlantic 85, Gordon and Phil (B-890) in 2016

After several photos outside of their lovely station we wished them well and headed off to our next visit. Thank you so much to Gordon, Phil, John, Mark, Rhonda, Mary, Sean, Oisin and Risteard for making us so welcome.

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Ballycotton Lifeboat Station

We arrived early at the station and took some time to stroll along the cliff path to one of the stations old lifeboats, RNLB Mary Stanford. She sits proudly overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on the cliff top. She was the stations first motor lifeboat in 1930 and was involved in one of the most famous rescues on the irish coastline in 1936. The Daunt Rock Lightvessel broke from moorings in a gale and the lifeboat was sent to save the 8 crew. A rescue that saw the crew away for three days. For this rescue, Gold, Silver and Bronze gallantry medals were awarded to the crew.

We then headed down to the station where we were briefly met by a couple of the crew and a relief coxswain. We were able to take some photos of the impressive station building and walked along the pier to get a photo of the Trent class lifeboat which was a relief boat. 14-07 – Frederick Storey Cockburn which we had seen before at Holyhead. The station boat was away for refit.

The station was established in 1858. The current station building was built in 2002 on the site of the original.

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Crosshaven Lifeboat Station

Our final visit of the day was to Crosshaven in a picturesque location near the mouth of the second largest natural harbour in the world. We were warmly welcomed by Jen and Phil who made us a lovely cup of tea and discussed our challenge and the station with us. They showed us around the station and the B-Class lifeboat, John and Janet (B-892) which is mounted on a rail and launched by a Davit (a crane).

The station was established in 2000 and has become one of the busiest in Ireland. An Atlantic 75, launched by a Davit was in service for 14 years before being replaced by an Atlantic 85 in 2016. This B-Class is John and Janet (B-892).

The first lifeboat station to serve the huge Cork harbour was established in the town of Queenstown (now Cobh) in 1850 but was closed in 1920.

Another fantastic day of sunshine and superb visits bringing us to visit number 199. Before heading to our hotel on the outskirts of Cork, we took the opportunity to visit the beautiful town of Cobh (pronounced Cove). Famous for its colourful houses, imposing church and for being the final port of call for SS Titanic on her ill-fated voyage. We took a stroll around town and then found a nice little Chinese restaurant for dinner before heading to our hotel.