The Ballycotton Lifeboat

A first for me since arriving at Ballymaloe, it’s only 8:30 and I’m tucked into bed for the night, nuts! Last night’s bedtime was the usual for the weekend, 4am. What a night! It was so fantastic to see everyone out of their chef’s whites and dressed up for the night out. The wine was flowing, we danced, ate a lovely meal, laughed and carried on. There were thirty-eight in total, not all students, some spouses and friends as well, but still a good number. The evening was all for a great cause, and I am so glad we went.

What is the RNLI?

The RNLI provides on call, 24-hour search and reuse service to 100 nautical miles out from the coast of The UK and Republic of Ireland. It also provides a seasonal lifeguard service on beaches in England, Scotland, Wales , Northern Ireland and Jersey.

In 2014 the lifeboats saved 368 lives and rescued 8,727 people, the lifeguards saved 92 lives and assisted 1,769 people. The Ballycotton RNLI station is one of 57 lifeboats at 45 different stations on the island of Ireland.

Today I had a lazy start, went to Ballymaloe House for tea, and then headed to The Blackbird for a pint and to watch the rugby match – okay, I didn’t actually watch the rugby but Mary did. We ran into Rachel who was drinking a pint of Guinness as a remedy – a great night was had by all! We came back to the school for a bit after the match, and headed back for dinner. Ronan, Freddie and Brian had a pop up restaurant, and all proceeds are going to the Ballycotton RNLI.

Tomorrow morning we (Mary, Hannah and I) are headed into Midelton to buy a few things for a picnic and then will do the Ballycotton Cliff walk, hoping the weather will be similar to today, the view is supposed to be incredible.

“No, it’s MY grandmother’s fur coat.” – Rachel, who took home the wrong fur coat last night… She called the lady who had hers and asked her to double check if it was the right one…

Ballycotton selfie!	Ballycotton Cliff Walk	Thank god for Guinness!
Ballycotton!	Meet Maggie!	Part of the crew!
Adam and Hannah!	Eva, English Sophie and Kelly	Some of the ladies!
Denise and Hannah	Tim and me!	Nicole and me!