The Mary Stanford returns to Ballycotton
Monday 26 May 2014
Living beside the port of Dun Laoghaire, my ears always prick up when I hear the distinctive beat of helicopter blades swirling around the area. It very often means that someone is in trouble and the helicopter is trying to spot them in conjunction with the wonderful RNLI lifeboat crew we have here.
We are a small island nation and even if we do not live exactly on the coast ourselves nobody is too far away from it. We are very dependent on our waters, they are our lifeblood in many ways but they can also be cruel. We have 2,000 miles of coastline and tragically almost every year there are tragedies.
There are 44 lifeboat stations around Ireland and last year RNLI lifeboats were launched 1,087 times bringing 1,278 people to safety. In fact, Dun Laoghaire's all weather and inshore lifeboats had the most launches in 2013 with its crew rescuing 67 people during 58 callouts. The majority of last year's callouts were to pleasure craft, which accounted for 583 while there were 138 launches to fishing vessels. These crews do extraordinary work, which sometimes we tend to forget about. Lifeboat crews also had 142 call outs to people classed as ashore which means they were ill or injured on an island, cliff or shoreline where access by lifeboat was the fastest or safest way to reach the casualty. On 10 occasions lifeboat crews were called to rescue animals in 2013 – four dogs, two sheep, one cow, two whales and a dolphin!
The outcome is not always happy which must be very stressful for the crew who have to go out in search of missing people and perhaps bring home loved ones who have perished at sea. Incredible to think in this day and age that the RNLI is a registered charity both here and in Britain reliant on volunteers and is not a government-funded organisation. Apart from an annual grant of €175,000 it relies entirely on the generosity of individuals to make financial donations or show their support in other ways.
The Mary Stanford was the lifeboat in the East Cork fishing port of Ballycotton from 1930 to 1959 and was called out on many 'shouts' during her service, saving more than 100 lives. Her most famous rescue was the treacherous Daunt Rock rescue on February 11, 1936 when the LV Comet Lightship got into trouble. The Mary Stanford was out on the rescue for an incredible 80 hours and Coxswain Patrick Sliney and his crew rescued eight people. Medals were subsequently awarded to the crew for their gallantry.
Sadly for such a beautiful and courageous lady, the Mary Stanford has languished in a backwater of Dublin's Grand Canal Dock for some twenty years and was in danger of being scuttled. However, some of the good people of Ballycotton decided it was time the Mary Stanford was herself rescued.
Last year the members of The Seafood & Shanty Ballycotton Business Development Committee, along with relatives of the Mary Stanford's original brave crew, took action and last October formed the 'Save The Mary Stanford' committee. Stephen Belton, managing director of the Garryvoe and Bayview Hotels, told me that it absolutely captured the imagination of people who wanted to see her on home ground in Ballycotton. The committee focused on raising enough funds for a salvage operation to lift her from Grand Canal Dock and transport her to Midleton in the first instance – all 29 tonnes of her. Fundraising consisted of everything from raffles to bingo, a choir concert, a dance at the Garryvoe Hotel, a bucket collection and online donations as well as a generous gift from the Midleton Town Council.
A plinth was erected on the cliffs overlooking Ballycotton Bay, close to the cliff walk looking out towards the Daunt Rock and on April 26 this year, The Mary Stanford made her much-anticipated journey home to Ballycotton in the midst of great excitement. It was a tremendous feat by Noel and Hazel Hennessy who manoeuvred her skillfully from Midleton through the narrow Ballycotton streets whilst East Cork Crane persevered in very difficult circumstances to lift her safely onto her retirement base. I visited the Mary Stanford recently and she really is a beautiful sight to behold – elegant and proud. She is still in serious disrepair and extensive funds are required for renovation to prevent further deterioration and maintain her for years to come as a beautiful monument to the bravery and courage of her crew and her years of service in Ballycotton and to the RNLI as a whole. The committee intends to place a plaque beside her in Ballycotton and look forward to welcoming everyone from near and far to visit and read her and her gallant crew's amazing story. You can also donate online and follow her progress.
Having brought the Mary Stanford home, Ballycotton is now looking forward to the second Seafood & Shanty Ballycotton festival taking place over the June Bank Holiday weekend on May 31 and June 1. During the inaugural festival there was a seafood cookery demonstration on Ballycotton pier whilst the Ballycotton Fisherman's Association cooked up and served a delicious selection of fishy samples fresh from the sea. Ballycotton pier was full of free old fashioned family entertainment with the likes of kids' pottery, cookie decoration, hook a duck, message in a bottle and much more.
Local fishermen, farmers and small business people partied on the pier and concluded the evening with an inter-business crab derby. You can expect even more music, fish and children's entertainment this year with local food market stalls, local arts and crafts, historic walking tours of the village, a crab fishing competition and kayaking. Don't miss the cookery demos either by chef Ciaran Scully – this man really knows his seafood. Will Sliney, whom they describe as their local Marvel super hero artist is also running a national children's Sea Monster Competition. Ballycotton is a beautiful place with great heart and great food and fun.
FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT