Mayo RNLI lifesavers prepare to answer the call this Christmas

AS the RNLI comes to the end of its milestone 200th year, the charity is launching its annual Christmas fundraising appeal, with a focus on the volunteer crew members who are preparing to spend Christmas on call.

On average, RNLI lifeboats launch over 100 times during the Christmas period every year. Whatever weather winter throws at them, RNLI crews, including those at Achill Island and Ballyglass, are ready to battle the elements to save lives at sea.

These rescues, and others all year round, are only made possible by the RNLI’s generous supporters, helping to fund the essential kit, training and equipment needed to keep crews prepared and protected.

Christmas is a time for family and friends, but the RNLI’s volunteer crews are ready to leave their own celebrations and answer the call for help.

Among the thousands of volunteers preparing for Christmas are brother and sister Brandon and Kayley Geraghty at Ballyglass RNLI and husband and wife Francis and Orlagh Blake-Dillon at Achill Island RNLI.

Kayley, 19, and Brandon, 22, joined the crew together earlier this year and follow in the footsteps of older brothers Ryan and Kyle who are already on the crew. Francis and Orlagh, meanwhile, are originally from Dublin but made the move to Mayo following the Covid pandemic.

“We joined the team in Achill Island about nine months ago,” Orlagh explains, “and the training under Coxswain Dave Curtis has been beyond good.

“We received our pagers on Friday, and I had my first call out on Monday. It was to a medical evacuation off Clare Island.

“When my pager went off for the first time, I nearly fell out of the bed, my heart was racing. But we have an area ready for our clothes, so I was able to quickly throw on a base layer and make my way to the station. Once I got down, the Coxswain briefed us and from there it went smoothly as the training and the brief kicked in as you know what you need to do.”

For Kayley, it was growing up on the water and then watching her older brother Ryan run out of the house to respond to his pager that inspired her to get involved with the lifeboat in Ballyglass.

“Dad has a RIB so I have a background of always being out on a boat to the islands since I was a child,” Kayley explains. “There is eight years between Ryan and I, and when there was a shout, I would always know he was gone by the way he ran out the door. I knew my brothers were going to help when someone was in need so I said I would do the same.”

As she looks ahead to her first Christmas carrying a pager, Kayley along with her three brothers and her fellow crew members, are ready: “I know for the crew there’s no feeling quite like bringing someone home safe to their families - especially at Christmas. Even at this time of year, people still get in trouble in the water, and like all RNLI crews, we at Ballyglass and Achill Island are prepared to leave our own celebrations to help others.

“But as volunteer lifeboat crew we couldn’t launch without kind donations from the public which fund the kit, training and equipment we need to save others and get home safely to our own families.”

To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas appeal, and enable the charity to continue its lifesaving work, visit https://rnli.org/pages/home-eur.