Blessing of the Boats interrupted by mid-ceremony ‘shout’

By Dan Walsh

Kilmore Quay RNLI launched this Sunday afternoon to assist the crew of a yacht taking on water in Kilmore Quay harbour

It happened as the crowd, including the volunteer crew, gathered for the annual Blessing of the Boats ceremony in the harbour, the crew were requested to launch their all-weather Tamar class lifeboat RNLB Killarney by the Irish Coast Guard mid-ceremony at 5.20 pm to assist a recently arrived yacht in the marina.

The vessel had taken on a significant amount of water having suffered some damage on the voyage to Kilmore Quay.

The lifeboat crew checked that everyone on board the vessel was safe and well before assessing the situation. The salvage pump was deployed to attempt to drain the vessel. Taking into consideration the immediacy and gravity of the situation, it was decided that the safest course of action was to assist in manoeuvring the vessel to the slip where it could be safely removed from the water by a local marine engineering company.

The vessel safely secured at the slip, the lifeboat returned to its berth in the marina and was made ready again for service.

The crew were then joined by parish priest Fr Pat Mernagh who completed the day’s Blessing of the Boats ceremony with a special blessing for the lifeboat and its crew.