Youghal Lifeboat Crew Respond to Two Serious Emergencies in One Afternoon

Wednesday 12 August 2026

Youghal RNLI volunteers were involved in two separate serious emergencies within a short period on Tuesday afternoon, 11 August, bringing a total of 13 people to safety and assisting in the airlift of a seriously injured casualty following a shark bite.

Youghal inshore lifeboat. Photo: RNLI/Youghal

The first incident occurred in Youghal Harbour when a 28-foot traditional half-decker, carrying 11 passengers, one crew member and a dog, got into difficulty and began taking on water.

The nearby motor fishing vessel MFV Kestral, owned and operated by Jack Nolan, immediately went to the vessel’s assistance. Jack Nolan and crewmember Liam Keogh are both volunteer helms with Youghal RNLI.

While making their way to the casualty, the Kestral crew learned that the situation was more serious than first reported, with a significant amount of water entering the vessel. Youghal RNLI was consequently requested to launch.

On arrival, Liam Keogh boarded the casualty vessel and helped transfer the 11 passengers to the safety of the Kestral. Youghal lifeboat then arrived on scene, with crewmember Alan Revins boarding the stricken vessel carrying a salvage pump.

By this stage, the vessel was taking on a large quantity of water. Alan quickly brought the flooding under control, preventing the situation from deteriorating further.

The three vessels subsequently made their way to Market Dock, where all passengers were safely brought ashore.

Youghal Fire Service also attended the incident and offered a large salvage pump, while members of Youghal Coast Guard assisted the passengers as they came ashore and helped with the berthing of the vessels at the pontoon.

Youghal RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager John Hearne praised the swift actions of those involved.

“The quick actions of Jack Nolan and Liam Keogh were instrumental in the successful rescue and with the pair, joined on scene by their RNLI colleagues, Alan Revins, Declan Troy and Jason Innes, in the lifeboat, all twelve people were brought to safety in a matter of minutes.

“Our lifeboat crew train to every eventuality and this callout shows how quickly a small ingress of water can turn into a real-life emergency.”

The volunteers had little time to recover from the first callout. While the lifeboat crew were washing down the vessel, they were requested to launch again.

This time Jack Nolan and Liam Keogh were aboard as lifeboat crew, joined by Alan Revins and Jason Innes.

The lifeboat was tasked to assist a leisure fishing vessel southeast of Ram Head after a person aboard had sustained a serious injury from a shark bite.

A paramedic winchman from the Waterford-based helicopter Rescue 117 attended the casualty and treated the injuries.

Youghal lifeboat assisted the operation by pacing the casualty vessel, providing a visual reference for the helicopter crew as they approached. The injured person was subsequently airlifted by Rescue 117 to Cork University Hospital for further treatment.

Ballycotton RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat was also in attendance during the incident.

The two callouts highlighted the varied nature of the work undertaken by the volunteer crews at Youghal RNLI, with the same volunteers moving from a flooding vessel rescue to a medical emergency within a matter of hours.

For the crews involved, it was another demanding afternoon at sea and one which demonstrated the importance of rapid response, teamwork and the close cooperation between the RNLI, Coast Guard, Fire Service and other emergency services.