Poolbeg Lifeboat Station

The first lifeboat to be placed at Poolbeg was operated by the Ship's Insurance Co. from Pigeonhouse Fort from 1804 to 1825. In 1820, a second lifeboat, built by Clements and Brady of Dublin was stationed "at the entrance to the River Liffey", kept on the quay near a crane, and operated by the Ballast Corporation of Dublin.{{cite book |last1=de Courcy Ireland |first1=Dr. John |title=Lifeboats in Dublin Bay |date=1 January 1999 |publisher=RNLI Dún Laoghaire Branch |isbn=0953354008 |pages=1–132}}

In early 1862, the Ballast Corporation made a request to the RNLI to take over the management of their three lifeboat stations, located at {{Lbs|Howth}}, Kingstown and Poolbeg, which was agreed. A new unnamed fully equipped 30-foot Self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with oars and sails, was provided to Poolbeg, arriving on station in March 1862. A new carriage for transportation was also provided, along with a new boathouse. The Ballast Corporation agreed to contribute £50 of the annual cost of the station.{{cite journal |title=Additional Stations and New Life-Boats |journal=The Lifeboat |date=1 October 1862 |volume=V |issue=46 |pages=163–164 |url=https://lifeboatmagazinearchive.rnli.org/volume/05/46/additional-stations-and-new-life-boats |access-date=14 November 2024}}

On the morning of 29 October 1865, the Poolbeg lifeboat was launched to the aid of the schooner Emma of Barrow-in-Furness, driven ashore at South Bull Sand, whilst on passage from Ardrossan to Newport, Wales. In a SSE gale, and with considerable difficulty, the crew of six were rescued.{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Ship News |date=1 November 1865 |page=11 |issue=25331 |column=C }}{{cite journal |title=Services of the Life-Boats of the National Life-Boat Institution |journal=The Lifeboat |date=1 January 1866 |volume=VI |issue=59 |page=6 |url=https://lifeboatmagazinearchive.rnli.org/volume/06/59/services-of-the-life-boats-of-the-national-life-boat-institution |access-date=17 November 2024}}

During an ENE gale on the night of 28 October 1880, the schooner Robert Brown of Warrenpoint was driven ashore near Pigeonhouse Fort. Two of the four crew were swept away and drowned, but the other two men were seen lashed to the rigging at daybreak by the coastguard. With the normal Poolbeg lifeboat crew absent on training, a replacement crew of local fishermen, seamen and soldiers from the fort was assembled. Launching over a beach strewn with debris and boulders, the crew fought to reach the vessel in extreme conditions, but after 30 minutes, successfully rescued the two men. Five RNLI Medals were awarded, with acting coxswain Lt. J. A. W. O.Neill Torrens being awarded the RNLI Gold Medal.{{cite book |last1=Cox |first1=Barry |title=Lifeboat Gallantry |date=1998 |publisher=Spink & Son Ltd |isbn=0907605893}}{{cite journal |title=Per Mare, Per Terram |journal=The Lifeboat |date=1 February 1881 |volume=XI |issue=119 |pages=230–231 |url=https://lifeboatmagazinearchive.rnli.org/volume/11/119/per-mare-per-terram |access-date=17 November 2024}}

In 1884, the lifeboat was moored afloat in Pigeonhouse Fort basin, after the sea undermined the lifeboat house, rendering it unsafe. In 1907, a new corrugated boathouse and slipway was constructed at the entrance to the basin by Mr Langley of Dublin, at a cost of £430-15s-0d.

Poolbeg would receive a unique new lifeboat in 1938. The 28-foot {{Lbc|Harbour}} motor-powered lifeboat was the only one of its type, designed for close shore work within an estuary, and was effectively the first Inshore-lifeboat of the RNLI. The new boat cost £1,893, and was funded from the legacy of the late Mrs. Helen Blake, of Handcross, Sussex. The official lifeboat naming ceremony was postponed due to the outbreak of World War II, but the boat was duly named Helen Blake (ON 809).{{cite journal |title=Poolbeg |journal=The Lifeboat |date=April 1940 |volume=XXXI |issue=341 |page=257 |url=https://lifeboatmagazinearchive.rnli.org/volume/31/341/naming-ceremonies-in-1939 |access-date=17 November 2024}}

The Helen Blake was launched at 22:35 on the 28 August 1954, following reports of 2 men in a small yacht shouting for help near the North Bull Lighthouse. Arriving on scene, they found the yacht Libera tied fast, and two men clinging to the lighthouse ladder. Both men were rescued, and the yacht towed ashore.{{cite journal |title=Libera |journal=The Lifeboat |date=December 1954 |volume=XXXIII |issue=370 |pages=796–797 |url=https://lifeboatmagazinearchive.rnli.org/volume/33/370/libera |access-date=17 November 2024}}

File:Harbour Class ON809 Helen Blake at Chatham.jpg

Poolbeg Lifeboat Station was closed in 1959. It was decided that the motor-powered lifeboats stationed at {{Lbs|Dún Laoghaire}} to the south, and {{Lbs|Howth}} to the north, could now easily cover the area, and the need for a lifeboat at Poolbeg had diminished. It had been four years since the last call in 1955. Between 1862 and 1959, the Poolbeg lifeboat was launched 53 times, and saved 59 people. The Helen Blake was sold from service, but was later fully restored, and is now on display in the RNLI Heritage Collection at Chatham Historic Dockyard.{{cite journal |title=Notes of the Quarter |journal=The Lifeboat |date=June 1959 |volume=XXXV |issue=388 |page=221 |url=https://lifeboatmagazinearchive.rnli.org/volume/35/388/notes-of-the-quarter |access-date=17 November 2024}}

The following are awards made at Poolbeg.

• RNLI Gold Medal

::Lt. John Arthur Wellesley O'Neill Torrens, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) - 1881

• RNLI Silver Medal

::Mr. Henry Lawrence Cox, Surgeon, Army Medical Department - 1881

::William Smith, Bombardier, RA - 1881

::Patrick Reilly, Private, Army Service Corps - 1881

::Francis Howard, Private, 57th Regt. of Foot - 1881

::Daniel Evans, Coxswain - 1882

::Samuel Carr, Chief Officer, H.M. Coastguard & Honorary Secretary, Poolbeg RNLI - 1882

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

::B. W. Jackson, chief engineer, of the Govt. hired steamer Stanley - 1881

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:{{Small|Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.}}

• List of RNLI stations
• List of former RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

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• [https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/dun-laoghaire-lifeboat-station Dun Laoghaire RNLI Lifeboat Station]

Category:Sea rescue

Category:Dún Laoghaire

Category:County Dublin

Category:Lifeboat stations in Ireland