Tramore Lifeboat Station is located on The Cove, near The Pier at Newtown, a suburb of Tramore, a seaside town in County Waterford, approximately south of Waterford, on the south coast of Ireland.
A lifeboat station was first established at Tramore in 1858 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
The station currently operates the Inshore lifeboat, Emma Vosper (D-915), on station since 2026.
History Ever since its founding in 1824, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), later to become the RNLI in 1854, would award medals for deeds of gallantry at sea, even if no lifeboats were involved.
On 25 November 1835, the RNIPLS Silver Medal was awarded to farmer Pat Coffey, when he rode his horse out in the surf, to get a line to the French schooner Les Deux Soeurs, wrecked in Tramore Bay on passage from Nice to Rouen. All the crew were saved.
The vessel Prince Regent was wrecked in Tramore Bay on 22 June 1839, whilst on passage from Newport, Wales to New York, Coastguard boatman John Weblin swam out through the surf, to get a line to the ship, and all 40 crew and passengers were saved. Weblin was also awarded the RNIPLS Silver Medal.
When the French vessel Capricieux ran aground at Tramore on 25 January 1858, whilst on passage from Llanelli to Saint-Malo, one crew man was lost, and two local fishermen, John Fitzgerald and Thomas Crotty, were drowned, when their small boat capsized while trying to effect a rescue. This was finally the catalyst for the local residents of Tramore to appeal to the RNLI, for a lifeboat to be placed at Tramore.
A local committee was established, for the management of the station, and to undertake the necessary local fundraising. A 30-foot 6-oared unnamed self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with oars and sails, was placed at Tramore in 1858, along with a carriage for transportation. A boathouse was constructed at Lady Elizabeth's Cove, costing £136-8s-9d.
Between 1861 and 1875, no fewer than 11 RNLI Silver Medals for gallantry were awarded at Tramore: 17 February 1861 (4), for the rescue of the four crew of the brig San Spiridione of Galaxidi. 22 January 1862 (2), when 24 people were saved from the ship Queen of Commerce. 3 December 1866 (1), for the rescue of the crew of five from the schooner Jane. 12 January 1868 (2), for the rescue of 21 people of the ship Oasis of Liverpool. 7 October 1869, a Third-Service clasp was awarded to Coxswain Richard O Johns in recognition of his long service. 3 January 1875, (1), when seven men were saved from the schooner Fanny of Salcombe.
Alterations costing £390 were completed at the boathouse in 1894, but in 1899, due to the sea encroaching on the boathouse, the lifeboat was relocated to a new building on Long House Lane in the Riverstown district of Tramore. The station building still exists, the road now being Riverstown Road. The area around the old boathouse at Lady Elizabeth's Cove was later protected, when a new pier of grey limestone slabs with a concrete capping was built in 1907, with a north wall added later.
The Tramore lifeboat station was closed temporarily in 1921. In 1923, the lifeboat on station, Robert and Ellen Robson (ON 669), was removed, and allocated to Aberdeen No.2 Lifeboat Station. Tramore Lifeboat Station closed officially in 1924, after a motor-powered lifeboat was placed at , approximately to the east.
After service at Tramore, and then , the Robert and Ellen Robson (ON 669) was fully restored, and now takes pride of place at the RNLI Museum in Whitby.
Inshore station In 1964, in response to an increasing amount of water-based leisure activity, the RNLI placed 25 small fast Inshore lifeboats around the shores of the UK and Ireland. These were easily launched with just a few people, ideal to respond quickly to local emergencies.
More stations were opened, and in June 1964, the lifeboat station at Tramore was re-established back at Lady Elizabeth's Cove, with the arrival of a Inshore lifeboat, the first Inshore lifeboat in Ireland. The number of the first boat is unrecorded, but in 1965, the unnamed (D-74) was placed on service.
'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' were accorded to Frank Partridge, Sean Walsh and David Kenneally in 1973, for the rescue of a boy stranded on rocks in Ronan's Bay, and to Noel Power in 1977, for the attempt to rescue a man who had fallen from a cliff. Doctor Hugh O'Brien-Moran was accorded a special Doctor's Vellum, for his efforts on the same occasion in 1977.
A new larger boathouse was constructed in 1996, further up the road from the small harbour, additionally providing up-to-date crew facilities. From 28 November 1996, the Inshore boat was placed on service all-year-round.
Helm Paul Tuohy was accorded 'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum', for the rescue of a surfer on 6 June 1997.
In 2015, Tra Mhor (D-643) was retired. During its time on service since 30 June 2005, the boat had been launched 127 times and rescued 100 people. The replacement lifeboat was a 25-knot . The €62,000 boat was funded from the estate of the late Mrs Ivy Purchase, known as Isabella, of Midhurst, West Sussex, a long-time supporter of the RNLI, until her death in 2012. At a ceremony at the National Lifeguard Training Centre in Tramore on Saturday 12 September 2015, Mrs Sally Mongey, wife of the late Finn Mongey, former Lifeboat Operations Manager at Tramore, named the lifeboat Isabella Purchase (D-781).
In 2026, Tramore received their latest Inshore lifeboat, Emma Vosper (D-915).
Station honours The following are awards made at Tramore:
RNIPLS Silver Medal Pat Coffey, farmer – 1835 John Weblin, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Ballymacaw – 1839 RNLI Silver Medal James Budd, Honorary Secretary – 1861 Richard O. Johns, Coxswain – 1861 William Morris Reade – 1861 Alfred Stephens, Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Tramore – 1861 John Donovan, Chief Boatman, H.M. Coastguard, Old Head – 1862 James Gough, fisherman – 1862 William Nelson, RN, commanding H.M. Coastguard Cruiser Eliza – 1867 Richard O. Johns, Coxswain – 1868 (Second-Service clasp) Martin Norris, crew member – 1868 Richard O. Johns, Coxswain – 1869 (Third-Service clasp) Stephen Pilcher, Coxswain – 1875 'The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum' Frank Partridge, Helm – 1973 Sean Walsh, crew member – 1973 David Kenneally, crew member – 1973 Noel I. Power, Helm – 1977 Paul Tuohy, Helm – 1997 A special certificate on Vellum Doctor Hugh O'Brien-Moran – 1977 Vellum service certificate John D. Palmer, crew member – 1977 'A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution' Garda John Lawton – 1977
Roll of honour In memory of those lost whilst serving at Tramore: Lost when their small boat capsized during an attempt to rescue the crew of a French vessel, 25 January 1858. Thomas Crotty, fisherman John Fitzgerald, fisherman
Tramore lifeboats Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats ON Name Built Class Comments 1858 1858–1865 30-foot Peake self-righting (P&S) x (6-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the RNLI, built by Forrest of Limehouse, London, costing £136.Transferred to and named Rescue. Pre-430 Tom Egan 1865 1865–1880 32-foot Prowse self-righting (P&S) x (10-oared) Prowse-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, funded by the Cambridge University Boat Club, built by Forrest of Limehouse, London, costing £210.Broken up in 1881. Pre-650 Alfred Trower 1880 1880–1890 x (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Mr H Trower and friends of London, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £363.Sold in 1893, used for demonstration purposes at Gainsborough until 1908. 280 Henley 1889 1889–1893 30-foot 3in Whaleboat x (10-oared) non-self-righting Whaleboat, legacy of Mrs G. Henley of Highbury, built by Woolfe of Shadwell, London, costing £205.Sold in 1893. 346 Henley 1892 1893–1918 32-foot Watson (P&S) x (10-oared) Watson-class non-self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mrs G. Henley of Highbury, built by Chambers and Colby of Lowestoft, costing £248.Sold in 1919. 669 1918 1918–1923 34-foot Dungeness self-righting (P&S) x (10-oared) Dungeness-class (Rubie) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mr R Robson, built by S. E. Saunders of Cowes, costing £966.Transferred to Aberdeen No. 2. Station Closed, 1924 Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.
Inshore lifeboats Op.No. Name Class Comments – 1964 D-74 1965–1967 D-163 1968–1978 D-179 1978–1979 1980–1988 D-375 Alice 1988–1996 D-511 Margaret 1996–2005 D-643 Tra Mhor 2005–2015 D-781 2015–2026 D-781 Emma Vosper 2026–
See also List of RNLI stations List of former RNLI stations Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
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External links Tramore RNLI Lifeboat Station