Arranmore man follows in 140-year family footsteps to volunteer for RNLI
Bernard John O'Donnell's great, great grandfather was the coxswain to serve on the first lifeboat on Arranmore in 1883 and his great grandfather was awarded a silver medal in 1941 for his part in the rescue of 18 sailors on the Dutch vessel Stolwijk
Arranmore RNLI have welcomed a new recruit, who is following in his forefathers’ footsteps.
Welcoming new crew member, Bernard John O’Donnell, Arranmore RNLI recruitment officer and relief mechanic John McCafferty said: "This is a great organisation to volunteer for and we welcome our latest recruit, Bernard John who has just completed his application form.
"Bernard has a family history of serving on the lifeboat, his great, great grandfather was the coxswain to serve on the first lifeboat on Arranmore in 1883 and his great grandfather was awarded a silver medal in 1941 for his part in the rescue of 18 sailors on the Dutch vessel Stolwijk which went aground on rocks off Tory island.
“We would encourage anybody aged between 18-65 living on Arranmore to visit the lifeboat station and see the work our crew do, we are always recruiting for volunteers who would like to be involved in saving lives, whether on land or sea, there’s a role for everyone.”
The volunteer crew are experiencing a busy month, responding to two calls from Malin Head Coast Guard this week to assist with medical evacuations from the island.
On Tuesday at 3.45pm the lifeboat transferred a patient from the island ambulance to a waiting ambulance in Burtonport for assessment in Letterkenny University Hospital.
Then on Thursday, having returned from a two-hour crew training exercise at 8pm the crew were again requested by the Coast Guard to transfer a patient from Arranmore to Burtonport.
Coxswain Kieran O’Donnell said: "Crew training is a continuous process and the learning never stops.’ Kieran continued ‘Our lifeboat crews train together every week, at sea and ashore.
"Weekly RNLI training exercises focus on teamwork, technical competence and safe operating procedures covering everything from boat-handling, search and rescue, and navigation, to radar training, radio communications and casualty care. Crews also practise rescue scenarios involving other emergency services such as the Coastguard and fire and rescue services and we are always ready to drop everything and answer the call."