A little bit of history was made locally over last weekend when the illustrious Royal National Lifeboat, Mary Stanford, arrived in Midleton on its journey home to nearby Ballycotton.

The boat’s own website tells the story best:

“She was the Ballycotton Lifeboat from 1930 to 1959 and was called out on 41 ‘shouts’ saving 122 lives. The most famous rescue being The Daunt Lightship rescue on 11th February 1936, as a result of this heroic rescue she was the first and remains the only lifeboat in RNLI history to be awarded a gold medal for gallantry (boat as well as crew).”

“She now sadly languishes in a backwater of Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock almost certainly heading towards being scuttled unless she is rescued soon!”

“As this is a very important part of Ballycotton and RNLI history, members of the community including relatives of the heroic Mary Stanford Coxswain Patrick (Patsy) Sliney, are teaming up to endeavor to bring The Mary Stanford home.”

The good news is that the Mary Stanford has been lifted from its moorings in Dublin and is currently in Midleton. She will soon head home to Ballycotton where she will be placed on a plinth overlooking the seas on which she carved out her reputation. It is intended to restore her over the coming year and many fundraising activities will be held to support it. We look forward to seeing the images of the restoration project and no doubt the finished project will feature in many an image of Ballycotton from here on in.

Connect with The Mary Stanford Facebook page here

Irish Examiner Article on the Mary Stanford

R.N.L.I., Ballycotton