RNLI Lifeboat Stations
Porthdinllaen Lifeboat Station. Photo: RNLI
The RNLI provide 24-hour search and rescue service operates from 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland.
These include four along the River Thames: Chiswick, Gravesend, Teddington and Tower.
Five inland lifeboat stations at Carrybridge, Enniskillen, Loch Ness, Lough Derg and Lough Ree.
Every lifeboat station has different needs depending on its location and without the right shore facilities, lifeboat crews cannot operate effectively.
Changes to lifeboat cover, new classes of lifeboats and the needs of the volunteer crews lead to improvements, and even rebuilds, of lifeboat stations. And so the RNLI continually review the supporting infrastructure to keep pace with the coastal ebb and flow.
The RNLI generally have around 125 projects ongoing at any one time dedicated to the upkeep and maintenance of lifeboat stations and other properties to ensure they’re kept fit for use for as long as possible.
The RNLI complete approximately 25 of them each year and these works account for some 10% of the RNLI's annual running costs.
RNLI Lifeboat Stations in the Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland
RNLI Lifeboat Stations in the Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland
Aranmore Lifeboat Station. Photo: Barry Moule
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) currently operate 46 stations around the Irish coastline as well as major inland waterways.
The types of boats provided at each station and the launching methods vary depending on local needs. If more than one boat is provided they are sometimes stationed in separate buildings at different locations in the same town. RNLI boats serving Irish stations currently fall into two groups:
- All weather lifeboats (ALBs): Mersey, Severn, Shannon, Tamar and Trent.
- Inshore lifeboats (ILBs): D Class (IB1), Atlantic 85 and Rescue Water Craft (RWC).
Recovery of Shannon class lifeboat at Clogherhead. Photo: RNLI/Pat Browne
The principal launching methods are:
- Carriage – an ALB or ILB is pushed into the water on a carriage by a tractor
- Davit – an ILB is lowered into the water by a crane
- Launchway – an ILB is pushed into the water on a carriage by hand
- Moored afloat – an ALB or ILB is kept in the water alongside the lifeboat station or nearby, in which case a small boarding boat is provided so that the crew can reach it.
- Slipway – an ALB slides down a slipway straight into the water.
Station | Lifeboat Types | Launch Method | Number & Name | Launching Equipment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Portrush | Severn Class D Class (IB1) | Moored Afloat Slipway | 17-30 William Gordon Burr (Y-238) D-871 Ken Blair | BB-901 Winch W-077 |
Red Bay | Trent Class Atlantic 85 | Moored Afloat Carriage | 14-32 Corinne Whiteley (XP02) B-843 Geoffrey Charles | BB-706 & TA99 TW30 |
Larne | Trent Class D Class (IB1) | Moored Afloat Carriage | 14-30 Dr. John McSparran (XP24) D-783 Terry | LR62 LR65 |
Bangor | Atlantic 85 | Carriage | B-805 Jessie Hillyard | TA94 |
Donaghadee | Trent Class | Moored Afloat | 14-36 Saxon (XP19) | LR92 |
Portaferry | Atlantic 85 | Atlantic 85 | B-833 Blue Peter V | TA117 |
Newcastle | Mersey Class D Class (IB1) | Carriage Carriage | 12-20 Leonard Kent D-775 Eliza | T118 TT11 |
Kilkeel | Atlantic 85 | Davit | B-812 Frank William Walton | Davit DA-024 Winch W-075 |
Clogherhead | Shannon Class | Carriage | 13-31 Michael O'Brien | SC-T17 |
Skerries | Atlantic 85 | Carriage | B-866 Louis Simson | TW07 |
Howth | Trent Class D Class (IB1) | Moored Afloat Slipway | 14-33 Roy Barker III (XP40) D-796 Aideen Cresswell | Winch W-079 |
Dun Laoghaire | Trent Class D Class (IB1) | Moored Afloat Slipway | 14-05 Anna Livia (XP25) D-865 Joval | BB-903 Winch W-076 |
Lifeboats listed in GREEN are temporarily on station.
Kilkeel Lifeboat Station. Photo: Pat Nolan
Station | Lifeboat Types | Launch Method | Number & Name | Launching Equipment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wicklow | Shannon Class D Class (IB1) | Moored Afloat Carriage | 13-27 Joanna and Henry Williams D-806 Dennis-Audrey | TA116 & TA46 |
Arklow | Trent Class | Moored Afloat | 14-19 Ger Tigchelaar (XP34) | |
Courtown | D Class (IB1) | Slipway | D-846 Frank | TA114 |
Wexford | D Class (IB1) | Carriage | D-782 Alfred William Newman | TA113 |
Rosslare Harbour | Severn Class | Moored Afloat | 17-43 Donald and Barbara Broadhead (Y168) | BB-694 |
Kilmore Quay | Tamar Class | Moored Afloat | 16-18 Killarney (Y216) | |
Fethard | D Class (IB1) | Carriage | D-819 Naomh Dubhan | LR67 |
Dumore East | Shannon Class | Moored Afloat | 13-41 William and Agnes Wray | |
Tramore | D Class (IB1) | Carriage | D-781 Isabella Purchase | TT15 |
Helvick Head | Atlantic 85 | Slipway | B-873 Robert Armstrong | TA119 |
Youghal | Atlantic 85 | Carriage | B-890 Gordon and Phil | TW42 |
Ballycotton | Trent Class | Moored Afloat | 14-25 Austin Lidbury (XP47) | BB-905 & BB669 Winch W-048 |
Lifeboats listed in GREEN are temporarily on station.
Relief Trent Class Lifeboat 14-32 Corinne Whiteley at Ballycotton Lifeboat Station. Photo: Pat Nolan
Station | Lifeboat Types | Launch Method | Number & Name | Launching Equipment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Crosshaven | Atlantic 85 | Davit | B-892 John and Janet | Davit DA-026 |
Kinsale | Atlantic 85 | Moored Afloat | B-909 Miss Sally Anne Baggy II - Never Fear, Baggy's Here | Davit DA-036 |
Courtmacsherry Habour | Trent Class | Moored Afloat | 14-07 Frederick Storey Cockburn (XP41) | BB-904 & BB-654 Winch W-078 |
Baltimore | Tamar Class Atlantic 85 | Moored Afloat Slipway | 16-25 Alan Massey (Y244) B-910 Rita Daphne Smyth | Winch W-062 |
Castletownbere | Severn Class | Moored Afloat | 17-44 Annette Hutton (Y191) | |
Union Hall | Atlantic 85 | Carraige | B-924 Christine and Raymond Fielding | TA88 |
Valentia | Severn Class | Moored Afloat | 17-07 John and Margaret Doig (Y223) | BB-676 & TA130 |
Fenit | Trent Class D Class (IB1) | Moored Afloat Moored Afloat | 14-27 Robert Hywell Jones Williams (XP14) D-860 Lizzie | TR-T1625 & TA70 |
Kilrush | Atlantic 85 | Carriage | B-844 Edith Louise Eastwick | TW08 |
Lough Derg | Atlantic 85 | Moored Afloat | B-911 Jane Spier | |
Lough Ree | Atlantic 75 | Carriage | B-920 Tara Scougall | TA52 |
Aran Islands | Severn Class | Moored Afloat | 17-06 David Kirkaldy (Y224) | |
Galway | Atlantic 85 | Davit | B-853 Binny | Davit DA-038 |
Lifeboats listed in GREEN are temporarily on station.
Severn Class 17-44 Annette Hutton at Castletownbere Lifeboat Station. Photo: RNLI
Station | Lifeboat Types | Launch Method | Number & Name | Launching Equipment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Clifden | Shannon Class Atlantic 85 | Moored Afloat Carriage | 13-43 St Christopher B-869 Joyce King | BB-068 & TA121 TW39 |
Achill Island | Trent Class | Moored Afloat | 14-28 Sam and Ada Moody (XP27) | BB-070 & TA69 |
Ballyglass | Severn Class D Class (IB1) | Moored Afloat Carriage | 17-15 Bryan and Gordon (Y229) D-823 Celia Mary | BB-066 Winch W-042 & LR73 |
Sligo Bay | Atlantic 85 | Carriage | D-888 Sheila & Dennis Tongue | TA109 |
Bundoran | Atlantic 85 | Carriage | B-834 William Henry Liddington | TW24H |
Enniskillen | Atlantic 85 Rescue Water Craft (RWC) | Carriage Carriage | B-912 John and Jean Lewis RWC-054 | TA133 H240 |
Carrybridge | Atlantic 85 Rescue Water Craft (RWC) | Carriage | B-904 Douglas, Euen and Kay Richards RWC-052 | TA132 H239 |
Arranmore | Severn Class | Moored Afloat | 17-22 Myrtle Maud (Y157) | BB-067 & BB682 & LR100 |
Lough Swilly | Shannon Class Atlantic 85 | Moored Afloat Carriage | 13-08 Derek Bullivant B-819 Minnie and Ernest George Barry | BB-069 TW31 |
Lifeboats listed in GREEN are temporarily on station.
Lough Swilly Lifeboat Station. Photo: Pat Nolan
Lifeboats Under Construction
Lifeboats Under Construction
All-weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole. Photo: Nathan Williams
The following is a list of new lifeboats that are to be assigned to lifeboat stations in the North and South of Ireland by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
Please note assignments may be subject to change.
Named | Number | Class | Station | Due |
---|---|---|---|---|