Wexford Lifeboat Station can be found at the western end of Wexford Bridge, in Wexford, the county town of County Wexford, which sits on the south side of Wexford Harbour and the estuary of the River Slaney, approximately south of Dublin, in the south eastern corner of Ireland.
A lifeboat station was first established in 1838 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), but on the east side of Wexford harbour at Rosslare Point, and was known as Rosslare Fort Lifeboat Station. With a short closure between 1855 and 1858, lifeboats operated from Rosslare Point until 1925, with the station closing in 1927.
In 1998, the independent Wexford Harbour Inshore Rescue (WHIR) lifeboat, operating from Wexford Harbour Boat Club, was formally recognised. Management of the station was transferred to the RNLI in 2002.
The station currently operates a Inshore lifeboat, Alfred William Newman (D-782), on station since 2015.
History In 1826, following a request from Capt. J. Dombrain, Inspector of Coastguard at Dublin, a lifeboat was placed at by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) (later to become the RNLI). A lifeboat built by William Plenty of Newbury, Berkshire, costing £130, arrived at Arklow on 30 November 1826, and was the first lifeboat to be stationed in Ireland.
The boat was later transferred to , then , and in 1838, with the help of a grant of £30 from the Corporation of Wexford, the lifeboat was placed at Rosslare Point, a spit of land on the east side of Wexford Harbour, establishing Rosslare Fort Lifeboat Station.
Just one year later, in 1839, the boat was condemned, having never been launched on service at any location. The boat was replaced with a slightly larger lifeboat, again funded by the RNIPLS, and a brick boathouse, long and wide, was also provided. The lifeboat operated from Rosslare Point until 1855, when this boat was also condemned. With no immediate replacement, the station closed.
At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 5 November 1857, it was resolved that a lifeboat be placed at Rosslare Point.
A lifeboat was ordered from Forrestt of Limehouse, London, but on 19 June 1858, the boatyard suffered a fire, which completely destroyed six newly built lifeboats, including the one scheduled for Rosslare Point. It would be the following November before a new 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and six oars, was sent to the station, which from then was to be known as Wexford Lifeboat Station. The boat along with its carriage was transported free of charge from London to Wexford by the British and Irish Steam Packet Company.
Almost immediately, it was realised that the new lifeboat was too small. By the end of 1859, a second, larger Beeching lifeboat had arrived to be the Wexford lifeboat. Previously named Harriett at , it would initially be unnamed, and was kept moored afloat. In 1865, the Beeching lifeboat was named St Patrick.
The smaller lifeboat was retained, and from 1860 was known as the "Rosslare Fort" lifeboat. When the smaller lifeboat was replaced in 1866, by the Prowse-class lifeboat Civil Service, it would from then be known as the 'Wexford No. 2' lifeboat, with the larger 38-foot lifeboat being 'Wexford No. 1'.
Funded once again by the Civil Service lifeboat fund, the Wexford No.2 lifeboat was replaced in 1879 with a new lifeboat, Civil Service No. 1 (ON 301). To accommodate the larger boat, a new boathouse was built closer to the shore.
Changes, storms and closure In 1896, the new lifeboat station of was established, when a large lifeboat Tom and Jenny (ON 271), previously at , was placed at the developing port of Rosslare Harbour. The following year, the Wexford No.2 station was closed, with the Civil Service No. 1 lifeboat transferred to .
Rosslare Point is a spit of land on the east of Wexford Harbour, attached to the mainland at its southern end. The lifeboat station was remote from any villages and so unusually had a paid crew (most RNLI crews are volunteers). They lived in cottages near the Coastguard's fort. It may be for this reason that when the 45-foot Watson-class motor-powered lifeboat William Evans (ON 653) was available in 1921, it was assigned to Wexford lifeboat station at Rosslare Point, rather than the newer station at , which was closed as a result.
However, everything was soon to change again. Severe storms on 27 and 31 December 1924 made three breaches in the spit, one being wide. Another storm blew up on 11 January 1925 which lasted three days. On the morning of the 13 January 1925, the hurricane force wind and sea "destroyed huts, telegraph poles, and everything it touched like matchwood." A capstan and its concrete foundation was uprooted. The families were evacuated by lifeboat to Wexford for safety on 14 January, and the Rosslare Point station was permanently abandoned. It was decided to reopen Rosslare Harbour Lifeboat Station, but until it was ready, the Wexford lifeboat remained on service, operating from Wexford Quay.
One of the last services carried out by the Wexford motor lifeboat, on 7 November 1926, was unusually, a land based rescue. The signalman of the Pilot Station at Rosslare Point was rescued from his house, after it had been surrounded by the tide, and was in danger of collapsing. Wexford Lifeboat Station formally closed in 1927, with the lifeboat being transferred to .
1995 onwards In 1995, a number of drownings on the River Slaney estuary and in Wexford Harbour resulted in a committee being formed, with the aim of forming a community rescue service. This was the start of Wexford Harbour Inshore Rescue (WHIR), which operated from refurbished shipping containers at the Wexford Harbour Boat Club. After training was received from the Water Safety Council and Department of the Marine, WHIR became a 'Declared Facility' for the Irish Coast Guard in November 1998.
On 11 April 2002, management of the station was formally transferred to the RNLI, and the Inshore lifeboat Winifred & Cyril Thorpe (D-469) was placed on station from the relief fleet. Following a donation from the Booth family, Wexford were finally allocated a permanent lifeboat, Phillip Robert Booth (D-644), in 2005.
A local fundraising campaign was also started in 2005, and with another substantial donation from the Booth family, over £100,000 was raised. After having continued to operate for five years from a portacabin and the containers at Wexford Harbour Boat Club, a new station was constructed at Wexford Quay, being completed in November 2007, at a cost of £552,000. The boathouse was formally opened at a ceremony in June 2008.
Area of operation The Inshore lifeboat at Wexford has a range of 3 hours and top speed of . Adjacent lifeboats are an All-weather lifeboat at to the south, and another Inshore lifeboat at to the north.
Service awards Lifeboat coxswain Marcus Boyle was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal, for leading the rescue of four men, eight women and six children from the Montagu, which ran aground in a storm in 1878. Thomas Wickham became the coxswain in 1884 and also won a silver medal, for saving people from the Annie in 1896. He was followed by Edward Wickham, appointed coxswain in 1899. He too received a silver medal following a service to the Puffin in 1906, followed by a second award silver clasp, for his part in the Mexico rescue.
The Mexico The Norwegian schooner Mexico was wrecked in a storm on 20 February 1914. The lifeboat was launched but capsized, with the loss of nine of its 14 crew. The five survivors managed to reach South Keeragh Island and bring the schooner's crew across to them. The Wexford and lifeboats managed to rescue the two crews from the island three days later. The Wexford crew used a skiff to reach the island. It was holed when it struck rocks but the lifeboat crew wrapped a loaf of bread in oilskins and blocked the hole so that the rescue could be completed. James Wickham and William Duggan were both awarded silver medals by the RNLI, along with silver medals from The King of Norway. Both men were awarded a specially struck All Ireland gold medal from the Gaelic Athletic Association, an award never made before, or since. Lifeboat Chief Inspector Holmes came from London to oversee the rescue operation and also received a silver medal.
Station honours The following are awards made at Wexford / Rosslare Fort:
All-Ireland Gold Medal, awarded by the Gaelic Athletic Association William Duggan, crew member – 1914 James Wickham, crew member – 1914 RNIPLS Silver Medal Richard Ross, Chief Boatman, H.M. Coastguard – 1825 Thomas Bates, Chief Officer of H.M. Coastguard, Wexford – 1839 Patrick Carberry, Masteer Mariner – 1844 Phillip Mitten, Master of the boat Zephyr – 1849 Thomas Rossiter, Master of the boat Steamer – 1849 Capt. William Toole, 40th Regiment of Foot – 1849 RNLI Silver Medal Mark Devereux, Master Pilot – 1865 (Third-Service clasp) Henry Carr, H.M Customs Officer – 1877 Marcus Boyle, Coxswain – 1878 Marcus Boyle, Coxswain – 1884 (Second-Service clasp) Thomas Wickham, Coxswain – 1896 Edward Wickham, Coxswain – 1906 Edward Wickham, Coxswain – 1914 (Second-Service clasp) William Duggan, crew member – 1914 James Wickham, crew member – 1914 Silver Medal, awarded by The King of Norway William Duggan, crew member – 1914 James Wickham, crew member – 1914 'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' Captain of the Wexford Tug Boat – 1914
Wexford and Rosslare Fort lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats Rosslare Fort (1838–1855) ON Name Built Class Comments 1838–1839 1826 x (8-oared) Plenty-class lifeboat, funded by the RNIPLS, built by William Plenty of Newbury, Berkshire, costing £130 when new. Previously at , and . Condemned and sold in October 1839. 1839–1855 Pre-187 1839 x (5-oared) Palmer-class non-self-righting lifeboat, funded by the RNIPLS, built by Taylor of Blackwall, London, costing £70.Broken up in 1855. Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.
Wexford / Wexford No. 1 (1859–1921) ON Name Built Class Comments 1858–1860 1858 28-foot Peake self-righting (P&S) x (5-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the RNLI, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £131.Transferred to Wexford No. 2. 1859–1865Pre-246 185238-foot Beeching self-righting (P&S) x (12-oared) Beeching-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Miss Sheriffe and Sir Edward Gooch, built by James Beeching of Great Yarmouth, costing £280. Later modified to Peake's plan.Previously Harriett at and . Renamed St Patrick in 1865. 1865–1871 St Patrick Sold in 1871. 1871–1890 Pre-563 Ethel Eveleen 1871 x (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mr J. M. Smith of London, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £472.Sold in 1891 1890–1898 274 Andrew Pickard 1890 42-foot self-righting (P&S) x (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mr A. Pickard of Leeds, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £647.Sold in 1898. 1898–1900 296 Reserve No. 4 1890 37-foot self-righting (P&S) x (12-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Lady Erle of Liphook, built by Watkins of Blackwall, London, costing £533.Previously William Erle at . Returned to the Relief fleet, later at . 1900–1921 442 1900 40-foot Watson (P&S) x (12-oared) Watson-class non-self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mr James Stevens of Birmingham, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £1295.Sold in 1921 for private use at Rosslare Point.
Rosslare Fort / Wexford No. 2 (1860–1897)