Ireland – Sun, Sea and Mountains

We can’t believe our luck with the weather so far on this trip. We woke to another clear blue sky and took breakfast at the B&B before heading the short drive to the small village of Union Hall.

Union Hall Lifeboat Station

We were met at the station, located on the fishing pier, by Andrew. He was a local photographer not directly involved in the station but working very closely with them to promote the life saving work they do. Our first observation was that Andrew did not have a typical County Cork accent, indeed he was actually from Poole in Dorset.

We were then met by Harriet, the chair of the fundraising group at the station. Soon after we were joined by Celia, another fundraiser. Andrew took some photos for us and we took our evidence photo in front of the station sign. We then headed up to the crew room which is within a stacked container as are the changing and kit storage facilities.

Union Hall is the newest station in Ireland being established in 2014. It followed the loss of six crew on the Trawler, Tit Bonhomme in January 2012.

We took some photos of their B-Class Lifeboat and tractor. The current Atlantic 85 joined the station in 2021 and is called Christine and Raymond Fielding (B-924). The funding for the lifeboat came from the late Dr. Raymond Fielding, a keen mariner and proud Cork man. While Raymond and his wife Christine did not live to see the lifeboat put into service, Raymond asked that it bear both their names.

Harriet very kindly gave us a station Bear each which was very generous. We were joined by Carmel, another fundraising volunteer and we had a great chat and a good laugh before saying our farewells and heading off to our final visit of the day.

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Baltimore Lifeboat Station

A short drive from Union Hall lies the small town of Baltimore. The lifeboat station is situated on a beautiful bay overlooking the islands of Donegal West and Sherkin. We parked outside the station and were met by former coxswain Kieran and current coxswain Aiden. They welcomed us into the impressive 3 storey station building and boathouse. We first took a look at their Tamar Class lifeboat 16-22, Alan Massey, moored against a jetty just outside the station. She joined the station in 2012.

Inside the station, mounted on a carriage on a slipway was their Atlantic 85, B-910, Rita Daphne Smyth, she joined the station in 2018 to boost the coverage of the dangerous inshore waters.

The station was established in 1913 but its opening was delayed by the first world war and the first boat arrived in 1919 and served the station for 30 years.

After thanking the guys for their warm welcome we headed into the town for some lunch only to be met by Aiden who owns the pub we decided to eat in.

Leaving Baltimore, we were keen to explore and had scheduled the rest of the afternoon for some sightseeing on our way up to our next base for 3 nights in Killarney. First, we headed around the bay to Schull. Getting up on the hilltop we were afforded a spectacular view of the bay and of the Fastnet Lighthouse.

Our journey to Killarney, took us through the most spectacular Healy Pass through the Killarney National Park and on up to the lively town of Killarney. We settled into our hotel and headed into town for a lovely meal.