No rest as brave Arranmore duo who saved a man's life instantly return to work

Two Arranmore RNLI members received recognition for saving a man’s life, only for their celebrations to be put on ice as they soon had to respond to two calls for assistance.

Crew members JJ O’Donnell and Evan O’Donnell were awarded commendations from the RNLI for playing their part in the rescue of Malachy Doyle, who got into difficulty at Owey Island when his kayak was overturned by a freak swell and tossed him into the sea.

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Malachy spent 30 minutes in the water before managing to climb onto a narrow ledge deep in a cave at Owey Island. With many local boats searching for Malachy, he was eventually discovered in the cave.

The lifeboat launched the Y boat with JJ and Evan on board and successfully rescued Malachy, who returned to Arranmore to thank his rescuers and present them with their certificates of commendation.

Malachy said: “I owe these young men and the lifeboat crew my life.” In conversation with JJ and Evan, Malachy asked how long the timeframe was in deciding to go into the cave: “Would it be three to four minutes?” JJ’s reply was: “It was the moment between swells.”

Split-second thinking is a testament to the extensive training all crew members have to undergo to become lifesavers. Well done and congratulations to JJ and Evan and the lifeboat crew.

Arranmore RNLI has experienced a busy weekend with crew being awarded for the rescue of a kayaker, a long service award, two new recruits and two calls for assistance.

Also, on Saturday, lifeboat press officer Nora Flanagan was awarded a long service medal for her 32 years service to the Arranmore RNLI.

Neither JJ or Evan had time to celebrate their award before responding to a further two calls for assistance. The first call came just after 7pm on Saturday when the lifeboat was requested by Malin Head Coast Guard to bring the NOWDOC (Northwest doctor on call) to assess a patient on Arranmore.

The second request, again by Malin Head Coast Guard, came on Sunday at 8.50pm to assist in a medical evacuation from Arranmore to a waiting ambulance in Burtonport for transfer to Letterkenny University Hospital.

The station also welcomed two new crew members, Proinsias Mac a’ Bhaird and Shane Gallagher.

Proinsias teaches history and Irish in Coláiste Ailigh in Letterkenny. From a young age, he was aware of the lifeboat being called out, his father and uncles having often answered the call.

Prior to the issue of pagers, the lifeboat crew would have been alerted by maroons to respond to a call for assistance, and Proinsias always thought that one day he might be able to join the crew. However, between college and work in Dublin and then Letterkenny, he found it hard to commit. His son Dan joined in July, and this inspired him to sign up. Both father and son will now embark on the training provided by the RNLI to enable them to save lives at sea.

Shane Gallagher continues the family tradition of service on the lifeboat; his father and uncle would respond to calls for assistance for the lifeboat, again, prior to a pager alert. Before the formalised training now provided by the RNLI, crew were volunteers with knowledge of the sea and once the maroons went off to alert the need for crew, local men would rush to the lifeboat station to answer the call.

Shane will now start his apprenticeship with the RNLI and is looking forward to learning all the disciplines involved in saving lives at sea.

To complete the busy weekend, the station welcomed a visit by twelve students from Germany and their teachers on a history tour and the work of the Arranmore RNLI. Arranmore RNLI welcome all visitors and groups to the station. Booking is recommended. Please contact Station Visitors Officer, Nora Flanagan, at ntflan@yahoo.co.uk to book your visit.