# Rosslare Harbour Lifeboat Station

Rosslare Harbour Lifeboat Station is the base for a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland.
The first lifeboat was stationed at Rosslare Harbour in 1896. The station was closed in 1921 but reopened in 1927 to replace the Wexford Lifeboat Station which had been closed due to coastal erosion.

## History

A lifeboat was stationed at Rosslare Fort (later known as Wexford) in 1838 to provide cover around Wexford Harbour. During the nineteenth century a new harbour was developed south of Wexford and Rosslare Harbour Lifeboat Station was opened close to the pier in 1896. The lifeboat was kept afloat in and it was expected that a steam tug would be available to tow it out to ships in need during bad weather.
Wexford was provided with a motor lifeboat in 1921 and Rosslare Harbour's lifeboat was withdrawn, but Wexford's station had to be abandoned in 1925 due to storm damage eroding the spit that it was built on. It was decided to reopen the station at Rosslare Harbour but the Wexford lifeboat was moored in Wexford until Rosslare Harbour was ready again in 1927.
A new mooring for the lifeboat in 1985, along with new store, workshop and facilities for the lifeboat crew.
After an incident when a large roll-on/roll-off ferry was in collision with the lifeboat at its berth, a new berth was provided in 2004 with a protective barrier around it.

## Service awards

Many of the Wexford crew transferred to Rosslare Harbour when it reopened in 1927, including James Wickham who had been coxswain since 1925. He had been awarded an RNLI silver medal for his part in the rescue of the survivors of the Mexico and the Fethard lifeboat in February 1914. On 20 October 1929 he earned a silver clasp to go with the medal for leading another rescue, saving five people from the wreck of the schooner Mountblairy. The Honorary Secretary at Rosslare, W. J. B. Moncas, often sailed with the lifeboat crew and was awarded a bronze medal for his part in the same rescue.
The coxswain in 1954 was Richard Walsh. He was presented with a silver medal while William Duggan and Richard Hickey were awarded bronze medals for a difficult service on 27 and 28 November 1954. The World Concord, a tanker, broke in two. The Rosslare Harbour lifeboat saved the 7 people trapped on the fore section while the St Davids lifeboat saved the crew from the aft section.
On 7 December 1978 the Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur sank. Richard McCormack was awarded a bronze medal for leading the rescue of the two crew members from this fishing boat.
Another fishing boat was in trouble in rough seas on 5 November 2003. Coxswain Brendan Pitt saved the boat and its crew of five for which he received the 'Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum'. He was also presented with a 'Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman' for his part in towing the Breaksea, a tanker, into harbour after it was prevented from running ashore by the Kilmore Quay lifeboat in a Force 8 storm on 26 March 2006.

## Area of operation

The RNLI aims to reach any vessel in distress up to 50 nmi (93 km) from the coast within 2 hours of launching. The Severn-class lifeboat at Rosslare Harbour has a range of 250 nmi (460 km) and top speed of 25 kn (46 km/h). Adjacent stations with all-weather lifeboats are Kilmore Quay to the south, Arklow to the north, and St Davids to the east. There is also an inshore lifeboat at Wexford.

## Rosslare Harbour lifeboats

Between 1896 and 1921 the station was home to large sailing lifeboats of the standard self-righting design.
Since reopening in 1927 it has seen a succession of motor lifeboats (now termed 'all-weather lifeboats'). The first, the K.C.E.F., was the first large Watson-class lifeboat to be fitted with two engines and two screws (one being usual previously) and the first RNLI lifeboat to be equipped with a 'wireless' radio.
| At Rosslare | ON | Op. No. | Name | Class | Built | Comments |
| 1896–1911 | 271 | — | Tom and Jennie | Self-Righter | 1890 | 42 ft (13 m) boat previously stationed at St Mary's and Beaumaris. |
| 1911–1921 | 422 | — | Robert Theophilus Garden | Self-Righter | 1898 | 40 ft (12 m) boat originally stationed at Wicklow. |
| 1927–1939 | 700 | — | K.E.C.F. | Watson | 1927 | Transferred to Galway Bay. Sold in 1956 and broken up in 2015. |
| 1939–1952 | 818 | — | Mabel Marion Thompson | Watson | 1939 | Transferred to Galway Bay. Sold in 1974 and used as a pleasure boat. |
| 1952–1969 | 896 | — | Douglas Hyde | Watson | 1951 | Transferred to Dunmore East Sold in 1973 and broken up in 2018. |
| 1969–1978 | 1011 | 48-008 | R Hope Roberts | Solent | 1969 | |
| 1979–1984 | 1007 | 48-004 | George Urie Scott | Solent | 1969 | First stationed at Lochinver. Sold in 1990 and reported later to be in the Netherlands. |
| 1984–2001 | 1092 | 52-26 | St Brendan | Arun | 1984 | Sold in 2003 and operating as the Irish Mist pleasure boat at Ramsey. |
| 2001–2004 | 1159 | 52-45 | Mabel Williams | Arun | 1990 | First stationed at Ballyglass. Sold in 2007 for further use as lifeboat Huaying 391. |
| 2004– | 1276 | 17-43 | Donald and Barbara Broadhead | Severn | 2004 | |
* ↑ The name K.E.C.F. represented four different people, each commemorated through different wills. Their full names were displayed inside the boat.
* ↑ The Douglas Hyde was named after the first President of Ireland.
* ↑ R Hope Roberts was funded from the wills of Miss Annie Ronald, Mrs. Rhoda Hope and Miss E. E. Roberts along with a large anonymous donation.