A lifeboat was first stationed here by the RNLI in 1859 following the Mary Stoddard disaster. It is one of two stations that have been home to the 'Dundalk lifeboat', the other being at Giles Quay.[1]
The Blackrock Lifeboat Station was closed in 1935.[1]
History
A storm, which is described in the Shipwreck Inventory of Ireland as 'one of the worst storms to have hit the coastlines of County Louth', began on Tuesday 6 April 1858, and did not subside until the following Sunday. The barqueMary Stoddart was seen in distress in Dundalk Bay on the 6 April 1858. Numerous attempts were made over 5 days to rescue the crew, and 4 men lost their lives in the rescue efforts. The Captain and nine crewmen were finally rescued by H.M. Coastguard Chief Boatman Robert Shankey and his boat crew from Giles Quay on the 9 and 10 April, but seven crewmen of the Mary Stoddart were lost.[2][3][4]
No fewer than 10 RNLI Silver Medals were awarded for the rescue efforts, and a memorial was erected in Roden place, Dundalk, in memory of those men who gave their lives.[5]
In Memory of Captain James Kelly Gerald Hughes James Crosbey and James Murphy who lost their lives in a Noble and Humble Effort to rescue the crew of the Barque Mary Stoddart wrecked in Dundalk Bay on 9 April 1858
Memorial, Roden Place Dundalk
As a result of this disaster, the RNLI promised to place a lifeboat in the Dundalk area, on finding a suitable location. Lord Clermont had a lifeboat house built at his own expense at Blackrock, and a 30-foot Self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with oars and sail, was placed there by the RNLI in 1859.[6]
A first service for the Blackrock lifeboat came on 19 September 1859, giving assistance to the vessel John James of the Isle of Man. A call on 22 August 1861 to the barqueFrederick, on passage from Dublin to the West Indies, but wrecked at Dundalk harbour entrance, resulted in 21 lives being saved.[7]
Funded by children attending Sunday School, a new lifeboat Stockport Sunday Schools was placed at Blackrock in the summer of 1867. This boat was launched on the 2 July 1873, to the Glasgow barque Prince of Wales (recorded locally as the Princess of Wales), aground 1 mile (1.6km) south of the lighthouse, and rescued 16 people. The wreck was a hazard to shipping for 20 years, and was eventually blown up.[8][9][10]
In 1877, it was thought that the Dundalk lifeboat would be better sited at Giles Quay (now Gyles Quay), on the north side of Dundalk Bay. RNLB Stockport Sunday Schools was transferred over to the new station in 1879, and Blackrock lifeboat station was closed.[1]
Almost straight away, the decision was reversed, and in 1880, it was decided to reopen the Blackrock station, but also to retain the new Giles Quay station.[1] A new boat, James Thomas, was placed at Giles Quay, and Stockport Sunday Schools was transferred back to Blackrock, but not before a race was held between the two station boats, Blackrock emerging victors after a restart.[10]
A new boat was placed at the station in 1885. General R. Dudley Blake (ON 95) was a 34-foot 6in Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat. As is the way, the lifeboat was not required for 10 years, and then she was required for two rescues on the same day, 24 December 1895. The first, to the steamshipParagon, beached at Dunaney Point, required 3 hours of hard rowing to make the 2 miles (3.2km) to the beached vessel, rescuing 11. The second, to the barqueArdendee of Liverpool, where another 11 people were rescued. It would then be another nine years before the lifeboat was once again needed.[10]
In 1909, the lifeboat was replaced with a 35-foot lifeboat, given the same name, General R. Dudley Blake (ON 593). On a call just before Christmas 1909, both lifeboats from Blackrock and Giles Quay stood by, until a tug came to tow the steam dredger Thames to harbour.[10]
With more powered vessels at sea, there were fewer and fewer calls on the lifeboat, and Blackrock would not be required again until 1923. In the last call out on 8 April 1923, the lifeboat brought ashore two passengers from the Fetlar, aground on the sand, but in no immediate danger.[10]
Blackrock lifeboat was called just 5 times between 1909 and 1935. With a motor-powered lifeboat placed at Clogherhead in 1931, Blackrock lifeboat station was closed in 1935. Launched 39 times since opening, the Blackrock lifeboat had rescued 75 people.[1]
General R. Dudley Blake (ON 593) was sold from service, and as of 2023, was awaiting restoration at Ardee, Co.Louth. The lifeboat station still stands, somewhat neglected, but is reported as being used as an art studio.[1]
Clogherhead Lifeboat Station is situated at Clogherhead, a village 7.5 miles (12.1 km) north east of Drogheda, in County Louth, Ireland.
Barmouth Lifeboat Station is located in Barmouth, a town at the mouth of the Afon Mawddach river in Gwynedd, Wales. A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institute for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1828.
Arklow Lifeboat Station is located at South Quay in Arklow, County Wicklow, a harbour town at the mouth of the River Avoca, on the east coast of Ireland.
Palling Lifeboat Station was located at the town of Palling, on the north-east coast of Norfolk.
Boulmer Lifeboat Station is a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station, which was located at the village of Boulmer in the county of Northumberland.
Whitburn Lifeboat Station is a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station, which was located in the village of Whitburn, in the county of Tyne and Wear.
Baltray Lifeboat Station is a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station, located at The Haven, in the village of Baltray, on the north side of the River Boyne, near Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland.
Giles Quay Lifeboat Station is a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station, located in the village of Gyles' Quay, on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth, Ireland.
Mornington Lifeboat Station is a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station in the village of Mornington, on the south side of the River Boyne estuary, near Drogheda in County Meath, Ireland.
Wicklow Lifeboat Station is located at East Pier in the county town of Wicklow, County Wicklow, a harbour town at the mouth of the River Vartry, on the east coast of Ireland.
Southport Lifeboat Station is a former lifeboat station, located in the Victorian seaside town of Southport, situated to the south of the River Ribble estuary, historically in the county of Lancashire, now Merseyside.
Courtmacsherry Harbour Lifeboat Station is located on Sea Road, in the village of Courtmacsherry, County Cork, on the southern shore of the Argideen River estuary, approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) south west of Cork, on the south coast of Ireland.
Brighstone Grange Lifeboat Station was located at Grange Chine, near the village of Brighstone, formerly Brixton, on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight.
Brook Lifeboat Station was located at Brook Chine, near the village of Brook, on the south west coast of the Isle of Wight.
Newcastle Lifeboat Station is situated at South Promenade, Newcastle, a seaside town in County Down, located the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountains, overlooking the Irish Sea, in the south east corner of Northern Ireland.
Youghal Lifeboat Station is located on The Mall, in Youghal, a town situated on the western bank of the River Blackwater estuary in County Cork, approximately 48.5 kilometres (30.1 mi) east of the city of Cork, on the south coast of Ireland.
Skerries Lifeboat Station is situated at Harbour Road, on Red Island, a tied island at Skerries, County Dublin, a town approximately 31 kilometres (19 mi) north of Dublin in the administrative region of Fingal, on the east coast of Ireland.
Howth Lifeboat Station sits on the middle pier at Howth Harbour in the fishing village of Howth, on Howth Head, a peninsula located on the north side of Dublin Bay, in the administrative region of Fingal, historically County Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland.
Dún Laoghaire Lifeboat Station is located at Queen's Road, in Dún Laoghaire, a seaside and harbour town in the administrative region of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, historically County Dublin, approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south east of Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland.
Balbriggan Lifeboat Station was located latterly under the railway arches on Quay Street, in Balbriggan, a town in Fingal, historically County Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland.
↑ "Blackrock Lifeboat". Dundalk Democrat. 25 September 1858.
↑ Bourke, Edward J. (1 March 1998). Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast Vol.2 932–1997. ISBN0952302713.
↑ "Loss of the Princess of Wales". The Times. No.27778. London. 26 August 1873. col E, p.6.
↑ "Royal National Lifeboat Institution". Huddersfield Chronicle. No.1873. Huddersfield. 8 August 1873.
1 2 3 4 5 McKenna, Patsy (1995). from the Boynes to the Mournes. A History of the County Louth Lifeboats 1856. Direct Print (Dublin) Ltd. pp.17–25. ISBN0952223503.
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