Hello Friend,

In 1838  William Darling, the Longstone Lighthouse keeper, and his daughter Grace, rescued  four men and a woman from the "Forfarshire" wrecked near the Lighthouse. Their rescue captured the attention of people all over the country.They were both voted the Royal Humane Gold medal. Unfortunately Grace Darling died of consumption in 1842. William the father of nine children died in 1865.

Regards,
Tony

The Wreck of the Water Lily. 1859.

An “Eye Witness” from Fort William Harbour, near Dundrum, gives the following.

“Having been an eye-witness of this wreck I consider it only my duty to make known to you and the public the brave acts of the men who rendered assistance to the ill-fated brig The Water Lily, of Dublin, from Liverpool, bound for Lagos, which came ashore at Dundrum. A heavy gale was blowing , Henry Boyd, Commissioned Boatman of the Coastguard with his crew of two men, and three other men (not coastguards) were immediately on the rocks. They made the most daring efforts to reach the wreck, but had not proceeded far when the boat was swamped and the brave crew washed out of her. They managed,

however, to get her back on the beach, and when she was cleared of the water they made a second attempt. When she was again swamped and stoved in. The fearless crew made for the beach and launched a second boat. The case seemed a hopeless one, but encouraged by their brave leader (Henry Boyd), entered the boat, which had not gone far before it too was swamped, and left the poor fellows struggling in the sea.. A forth attempt was made with the same results The cries and screams of the wives and children were heart-rending during this misfortune.

Captain Ridge, R.N. and Lt. Goslin, R.N. arrived at the scene and rendered every assistance in getting the boat on the beach, and when it was cleared of the water these brave fellows were encouraged by the 2 officers and a fifth attempt was made. These determined men, after so many attempts, succeeded at last in reaching the wreck, and took from her into their boat 8 persons, including the wife of the captain, who seemed more like a dead woman than a living one.

When this little boat, with her wearied load, was approaching the shore, a heavy wave came and dashed her against the rocks, and immediately she went to pieces. The witnessing of these poor fellows battling with the waves was heartrending; and were it not that the people on the beach caught hold of each others hands, extending as far as possible into the water, and grasping those who were carried up by the waves they must all have been lost. Henry Boyd, who stripped himself to his flannel drawers and his shirt, struggled hard with the waves, having the captain’s wife in one hand, and managing as well as he could with the other. He was fortunately grasped by one of his countrymen, Mr.M’Ginn, when in a state of complete exhaustion; but even in this condition he held a death-grasp of the captains wife, who was senseless. He told this broken-hearted woman, when she was taken into the boat, that he would endeavour to save her, and he fulfilled his promise. When she recovered she recollected what Boyd had said and thanked God for saving them all.

The names of the crew were as follows:- Henry Boyd, Commissioned Boatman, John Leary, and James Abrams: Thomas Savage, John Carr, James Poland, not coastguards. I have it on good authority, that Henry Boyd has the third time been instrumental in saving lives of individuals”.

Ref: The Irish Times 20 December 1859.

Pretty Wedding at Crookhaven. 1908.

At Goleen Protestant Church on the 18th inst. By the Rev.C.W.F. Rogers, a pretty wedding took place. The contracting parties were E G W Hill, of Newcross Road, London, to Florence Byres, second daughter of H.J.Byres, Esq. Chief Officer of Coastguards, Rock Island. The bride was given away by her father, who wore full dress uniform. The bride looked very pretty in a  charming traveling costume made of cream serge, and was attended by her sister, who also looked very pretty in a nice cream coloured dress. The duties of best man were efficiently performed by Robert Byres, the brides brother, who attended to everything in his own genial manner. As the bridal party, which consisted of Mr. and Mrs Byres, Mrs. Hill. Miss Byres, W.G.Byres, Sutherland, left the church they were greeted  by a large concourse of people. During the day a number of congratulatory telegrams were received. At night the countryside was ablaze with bonfires and a magnificent fire work display also took place at Crookhaven. A most enjoyable dance was also held at Rock Island, which was largely attended by gentlemen from the Marconi , and Lloyd’s, Browhead, and also gentlemen and ladies from the Irish Lights,Rock Island, and from Goleen and Crookhaven. The presents were numerous and very beautiful.

Ref: The Southern Star. 29 August 1908.

Recent Drowning Accident at Rosslare. 1906.

We much regret that in the report of the recent drowning accident at Rosslare, published in our issue of Saturday, an unjustifiable imputation was made against the Coastguards. Having received two letters from eye-witnesses of the incident we hasten to give the proper facts. On Thursday afternoon two young fishermen, named O’Connor and Furlong, who had been fishing in a small flat bottomed boat, attempted to land on the beach at Rosslare. There was a high sea running, and the boat capsized, both men being thrown into the water. Immediately the Chief Officer and Coastguards launched their boat, and rowed to the rescue. The first man to be taken into the boat was Kehoe, who was fallaciously reported to have been the sole rescuer. The latter had gone to assist the fishermen, but he himself was evidently in difficulties. Then Connor, who was clinging to the upturned boat, was taken out of the water, and subsequently Furlong, who was washed out by the tide some thirty yards, was recovered. The Coastguards brought the three men ashore, and it should be mentioned that within the space of twenty-minutes after launching the boat the men were landed and being treated. Kehoe and Connor quickly revived, but for over two hours the Coastguards, under  the direction of Dr. Martin, who was the only doctor on the spot, endeavoured to restore Furlong to animation. Finally, however, Dr. Martin pronounced life extinct. It must also be mentioned that blankets, towels, Hot water bottles, and other necessary articles were supplied by the wives of the Coastguards. The rescuers deserve much credit for the manner in which they effected the rescue, and again we express our regrets that the real facts connected with the incident were not revealed in the previous report.

Re: The Irish Times 31 July 1906.

Irish Proverbs

Its often a persons mouth breaks his nose.

You'll never miss the water till the well runs dry.

With more and more people enjoying the beach and sea, the RNLI has never been busier - rescuing an average of 22 people every day. It now costs over £330,000 a day to run this essential service - to train their volunteers and maintain their craft and equipment. So however you choose to support them, every penny really counts.

To donate to the RNLI, simply call 0800 543210 or visit rnli.org.uk
(for Republic of Ireland call (01) 800 789 589 or visit rnli.ie)