Fenit RNLI Delegation Attends Bell Ringing Ceremony for New Shannon Class Lifeboat
- Pat Nolan
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Wednesday 22 April 2026
A new era is approaching for Fenit RNLI as the station prepares to welcome a state-of-the-art Shannon class lifeboat, Roy Barker VII. The vessel will replace the long-serving Trent class lifeboat Robert Hywell Jones Williams, which has protected lives along the County Kerry coast for more than 25 years.
The milestone was marked on Tuesday (21 April) at the RNLI All-Weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole, where a seven-member delegation from Fenit attended a traditional bell-ringing ceremony. This symbolic event celebrates the moment a new Shannon class lifeboat leaves the production line and enters the water for the first time.
The Fenit group included two long-serving volunteers nearing retirement: mechanic John McGibney, with 24 years of service, and Coxswain Finbarr O’Connell, who began volunteering in 1994 and has dedicated 32 years to the RNLI. They were joined by Lifeboat Operations Manager Fergus Kelliher, Station Technician Kevin Honeyman, crew members Wayne O’Sullivan and Cian Lawless, and Lifeboat Management Group Chair Peter Clifford.
During their visit, the team toured the facility and witnessed the completion of the £2.7 million lifeboat, which will soon undergo final sea trials before arriving in Fenit.
Speaking during the short ceremony, Fergus Kelliher, Fenit RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said everyone had gathered for a tradition that was both simple and deeply meaningful, the ringing of the bell to mark the milestone of the Roy Barker VII touching the water for the first time.
‘We as a station team deeply appreciate the skill and dedication of the team here at the All-weather Lifeboat Centre,’ he said, ‘whose craftsmanship has ensured our volunteers will soon have this modern Shannon class lifeboat saving lives off the beautiful coast of County Kerry in Ireland. We are also deeply grateful to the donor of this new lifeboat without whom none of this would be possible.
‘Our lifeboat service in Fenit, first established in 1879, has a long and proud tradition of helping those in and around our coastline, and this new Shannon class lifeboat will strengthen and continue to build upon that longstanding lifesaving history.
‘In maritime life, the bell has always carried significance. It marks time, signals presence, and calls people to action. Today, as we ring this bell, we do more than mark a moment, we look forward to welcoming a new lifeboat into the Fenit lifeboat station family. A lifeboat that will empower our volunteers to answer the call for help, a lifeboat to bring hope to those in danger, and to carry our crew safely through even the most challenging of conditions. Each strike of the bell is a promise, a promise of readiness, of courage, and of service to all who depend on us.’
Roy Barker VII has been funded through the legacy of Frederick Roy Barker, whose admiration for RNLI volunteers inspired him to leave his entire estate to the charity. His generosity continues to support lifesaving work across the UK and Ireland, having already funded multiple lifeboats at stations including Howth, Alderney, Wick, The Mumbles, New Quay, and Troon.
With its arrival, Fenit RNLI looks ahead to continuing its lifesaving mission with enhanced capability, carrying forward both a proud tradition and a powerful legacy of support.
