Ireland – Most Westerly

Whilst basing ourselves in Killarney for 3 nights was a good plan for stability, it did result in some long drives to two of the most remote stations on the far south west coast.

Heading out early we travelled for about 90 minutes before reaching Casletownbere, the furthest west station in County Cork.

Castletownbere Lifeboat Station

We arrived in good time and found a café for some tea and breakfast before heading over to the station. The shop was open and we had a good chat with the lovely volunteer whilst purchasing our pin badge. We then took our evidence photo and a couple of photos of the lifeboat moored in the harbour. The station seemed quiet so we tried the doors and rang the door bell but unfortunately did not get a response. We waited for about half an hour and headed on the long journey to our next visit. Unfortunately, we learnt later that there was someone at the station waiting for us and we were devastated that we did not get to meet them and extremely sorry that we wasted their valuable time.

The station was established in the town in 1997 to fill the gap between Baltimore and Valentia stations. The crew first operated from temporary portacabins with the Arun Class lifeboat moored in the middle of the harbour. Their current lifeboat is a Severn Class, Annette Hutton (17-44) which joined the station in 2004. A new station building was constructed in 2012 with improved crew facilities.

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The drive to our next visit was spectacular back up to Kenmare and then returning along the Ring of Kerry to the island of Valentia.

Arriving a little early we had time to look around the coast and in particular at the location of the first transatlantic cable laid back in 1866 on the third attempt. This formed the first permanent link between Europe and the USA.

Valentia Lifeboat Station

Valentia Lifeboat Station is the most Westerly station in the RNLI and so this visit means we have visited the stations and the four points of the compass. At the station we were greeted by Coxwain Richard who welcomed us with a tour of the station.

Valentia station is the oldest on the west coast being established in 1864. The station closed in 1896 due to lack of crew and demand. In 1946 the station was re-opened and the current station building was added in 1995 with improved crew facilities and housing for a boarding boat.

The current lifeboat is a Severn Class, John and Margaret Doig (17-07)

After saying our farewell we started the long drive back to Killarney. The following day we had booked off for some sightseeing around the Dingle Peninsula and Killarney National Park before another enjoyable meal and a Irish music and dance show which was spectacular.