The west Cork fishing port of Castletownbere has been earmarked by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for a new €3 million lifeboat.
Self-righting trials on the Severn-class vessel have taken place on the Isle of Wight, and the lifeboat will undergo further rigorous testing before being delivered to west Cork. During the capsize tests, the vessel was able to right itself in just over six seconds.
Crew training on the vessel will take place at the new RNLI lifeboat college in Poole, Dorset, and it is due to arrive on station in west Cork for the August bank holiday weekend this year.
The Severn is currently the biggest and fastest in the RNLI's fleet of all-weather lifeboats, with a top speed of 25 knots, and its assignment to Castletownbere will allow the crew under coxswain Mr Brian O'Driscoll to reach casualties more quickly.
The vessel is being named after its Irish benefactor, Mrs Annette Hutton of Blackrock, Co Dublin. The RNLI relies on voluntary donations and legacies, and most of its crew members are also volunteers.
Irish lifeboats had one of their busiest years on record last year, when some 1,112 people were saved off the coastline.
RNLI vessels launched 867 times, with Portrush, Co Antrim, recording 52 launches and rescuing 29 people.
Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, launched on 51 occasions and rescued 58 people.
Howth lifeboat station also recorded 50 launches and rescued 69 people, while the Aran Islands vessel launched 46 times and rescued 50 people.
Rescue vessels in both Britain and Ireland have noted a seven per cent increase in activity, with an average of 21 people being rescued every day on the two islands.
