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RNLI and GAA to work together

11 March, 2017

RNLI and GAA to work together to prevent drowning.

Vincent O'Donovan had the great pleasure to represent the Courtmacsherry RNLI Lifeboat Station at the launch of a superb partnership in Croke Park on Wednesday last, as the GAA and the RNLI joined forces to work together in the prevention of drownings, the education on the danger of water and to promote the RNLI Respect the Water campaigns in the years ahead. This initiative has been in the making over the past year and was the brainchild of the Red Bay Lifeboat LPO Paddy McLoughlin who is steeped in Antrim and Cushendall Hurling. There to launch the campaigns were the President of the GAA Aogan O'Fearghail and the RNLI Chief Executive Paul Boissier, along with representatives of all the 46 RNLI Lifeboat Stations in Ireland. The MC for the event was the Legendary Micheal O'Muircheartaigh and he paid a glowing tribute to all the Lifeboat and GAA volunteers who give of their time freely in the betterment of community life in Ireland every year. He sends his best wishes to the Barryroe Club for the year ahead.

The Courtmacsherry Lifeboat station has a proud crossover of personnel that are linked to Barryroe GAA and long may that continue. Many of our Lifeboat crew are playing members of our GAA club and one of our current voluntary crew Mechanics Pat Lawton is also the Club referee. Our Lifeboat Bronze Medal Awardee of 1998, Coxswain Dan O'Dwyer was a Cork Minor Hurler and probably the best hurler that Barryroe ever had.

Over the years, we have a great working relationship together and we all fully realise and expect that the Lifeboat Crew can vanish from a match or a training session when the bleeper goes off. There were often nights before Championship matches (and still are), that we prayed that the lads would not be called out on an all night search or call out. As always, the Lifeboat comes first and the lads disappear.

It was truly a very very special day for Irish Lifeboats and Barryroe Gaa and the local links between the two organisations in our parish were to the forefront on a beautiful sunny day on the Upper Deck of Croke Park.

Attached is information leaflet on this partnership and some local pictures with the GAA President and Michael O'Muircheartaigh. Also representing the Parish of Barryroe was the Irish Coastguard representative Gerard O'Flynn, originally from Barry's Point whose family have a long association with Courtmacsherry Lifeboat and also with the Barryroe GAA club.

We also met with one of the officials that make Croke Park tick today, our own Clubman Aidan Carroll who is now based at Headquarters. Looking as fit as ever, he hopes to get down for more regular training sessions shortly.

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