‘The fact the son came back would remind you why you do it’
SOME OF ARKLOW RNLI’S FINEST SHARE THEIR MOST MEMORABLE CALL-OUTS WITH REPORTER EOIN MAC RAGHNAILL, AND REVEAL WHY THEY VOLUNTEER
ASYMBIOTIC relationship stretching back nearly two centuries, the Arklow community and its RNLI Lifeboat crews have supported one another to make the ancient Viking town and its stunning coastline safer for generations.
With the 200th anniversary of the RNLI nearing, the 24-strong Arklow crew – which includes Station Coxswain Ned Dillon, Station Mechanic Jim Russell, five trained coxswains and six mechanics – have been shouting from the rooftops about their community’s tireless fundraising efforts.
Offering an insight into the life-saving impact of every donation, three long-serving Arklow RNLI crew members sat down to reminisce about the rescues made possible and convey their appreciation to the supporters who have kept them on an even keel for so long.
A true son of the sea, Lifeboat Operations Manager (LOM) John Bermingham joined the Arklow RNLI almost 24 years ago, following in the footsteps of his father and uncles before him.
Although that familial tradition has waned in recent decades, in tandem with the broader decline in seafaring activity in his hometown, John said that the “remarkable” generosity and support of the broader Arklow community has never faltered throughout the station’s 198-year history.
“To be able to say that we’ve been here for nearly 200 years just goes to show what a credit it is to the people of Arklow who have contributed and kept us going,” John said. “There would
Arklow certainly be more corporate donations these days, but in those early years especially, the people of Arklow putting a few coppers into the box was a huge thing – and still is.
“When the institution was founded, in 1824, it was based on 12 resolutions, which included: ‘The preservation of human life from shipwreck and supported by donation and annual voluntary subscriptions’. That’s still the same today.
“People often ask us what the donations go towards, as we’re all voluntary except for our full-time man, Station Mechanic Jim Russell. Put simply, those donations make sure that the lifeboat is ready to go 24/7.
“It’s fuel for the 4,000-litre boat, which has to be topped up every time, and sets of gear for the crew. It’s parts, which may have to be shipped from Dublin or Poole if something breaks, and a station mechanic on full-time to handle all the paperwork and keep on top of the maintenance.
“I can’t stress enough that we simply could not do this without the support of our community, and that has been the story of the Arklow lifeboat for nearly 200 years,” he added.
“From all of us at Arklow RNLI, we would like to thank the community of Arklow and the district for their remarkable support.”
An Arklow RNLI stalwart whose service spans four decades, Deputy Launching Authority (DLA) Michael ‘Mick’ Fitzgerald echoed the sentiments of his LOM, lauding the Arklow community for their unwavering generosity over two centuries.
Asked about the most memorable experiences of his tenure, Mick quoted the unwritten motto, ‘Drown we May. Go We Must’, before recounting the occasion when he helped rescue a gentleman adrift at sea in a homemade boat – an unforgettable encounter that would “ripple through history”.
“I joined the crew in 1980, on the record,” Mick joked. “I had just come out of school and was contemplating what to do with my life. I knew the coxswain and Christy (Gaffney), who brought me out on my first call-out when I was 16 when you were really supposed to be 17.
“I had one call in those early days to go for a man that had been blown out to sea in a little boat he built, which he had launched from Clogga Beach.
“His wife and two children were watching him on the shore watching him put up the sail on a mast that was basically a brush handle that snapped almost instantly and he was blown out to sea immediately.
“We had the wooden boat at the time, a Watson class with a top speed of 8 knots, and when we caught up with him, we lifted him and the boat onto the bow of the lifeboat and brought him back to the station, where he was reunited with his wife and family, and there were tears of joy and happiness.
“Many years later, when I was the full-time man at the station, a man walked in through the door with a little child and asked for Coxswain Michael O’Brien, who had died many years before,” he continued. “He told me that Michael had saved his father years ago, and when I asked him about it and heard the description, I realised he was that little child standing on the beach after his father had blown out to sea all those years ago.
“He had come back to say thanks, which was a lovely story, so I told him where the graveyard was and offered to go up with him, and he said he would visit it.
“I suppose, I probably remember it so well because I was a young fellow, but the fact that the son came back is something else and would really remind you why you do it. It just shows you that your actions on the day can have an effect that ripples down through history.”
Despite having 14 years of service under his belt at the Arklow Lifeboat Station, Deputy Launching Authority Jimmy Myler still considers himself “only a young fellow” in the great pantheon of Inbhear Mór volunteers.
Jimmy signed up because it was a natural fit, but no amount of training or seafaring experience could have prepared him for the adrenaline rush of his first call-out.
“I had always been around the harbour, so when I was asked to volunteer one day, it fitted in with my work,” Jimmy said.
“I can still remember the first call. I had just passed out when the pager came in – a mayday call from the 32ft ‘China Blue’.
“We went out in a big bank of fog and found her. She was completely awash, right up over the deck with two people on her, a father and a son.
“She was just about gone, so we sent over our pump, but it wasn’t good enough to empty the boat. Then the coxswain saw a wave travel up over the boat, and we thought she was gone, but she wasn’t, and we took the two crew and our lads off it straight away.
“Out of nowhere, the ILV Granuaile came out of the mist, which calmed the water, she was so big. The boat settled, and they pulled alongside and got their pumps into it and sucked her dry, and we towed her in.
“That was my first shout, and my lasting memory of it was that the adrenaline was way up, and then, all of a sudden, it was over, but the adrenaline was still going,” he added.
“I remember standing back on shore three hours later, thinking: ‘What the hell just happened?
“Every time the pager went off after that, on every call out, straight away, that same feeling again – just pure adrenaline.”
Asked what he enjoyed most about volunteering, Jimmy said that spreading the water safety message throughout Arklow’s schools was a big personal passion, highlighting his plan to provide every transition year student in the town with essential life-saving skills.
“The community are so good
I REMEMBER STANDING ON SHORE THREE HOURS LATER THINKING: ‘WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED’ - THE ADRENALINE WAS STILL GOING
to us, and I suppose a way of giving back to them is giving them this water safety training, especially at an early age,” Jimmy said. “That can be us going to schools or youth groups or them coming to us. It could be families that want to learn how to protect themselves or each other if they fall in.
“We’ve had great success with the ‘Float to Live’ campaign, which is a big pillar of water safety. I go to schools with all the gear and paraphernalia, teaching students things like how to call for help, prevent yourself from falling in, and how to use a life ring.
“If we can deliver training to every TY student in Arklow each year, then every young person in the town will have had it and be better equipped to save themselves or their buddies.”