HEROIC lifeboat crewmembers from Skerries are to be honoured on the RNLI's first memorial which is due to be unveiled shortly in England. Six names on the memorial which is being erected at the RNLI headquarters in Dorset belong to Skerries volunteers who lost their lives in 1873 when their lifeboat capsized. The men who were trying to save the lives of the crew onboard the schooner 'Sara of Runcorn' will never be forgotten by anyone serving at the Lifeboat Station in Skerries.

The six Skerries Volunteers who drowned were Patrick Reid, James Kelly, William Fitzpatrick, Joseph Halpin, Rich Cochrane along with Albert Fanning. They were all remembered on a grave stone at the entrance to the Holmpatrick Cemetery in Skerries. The new memorial sculpture will be located opposite The Lifeboat Training College, in Poole, southern England, where future generations of lifesavers and fundraisers will train. ' This memorial and those it remembers should further inspire them and all who are connected with the RNLI and lifesaving at sea,' commented Mary Courtney, Skerries Press Officer.

'The memorial will be accessible at all times so the public can pay their respects and contemplate the extraordinary self-sacrifice of the many people throughout the islands of Ireland and UK, involved with the charity over the last two hundred years.

'Ultimately the memorial will remind us all of the commitment and dedication of those involved with maritime search and rescue past and present, especially the RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crews at our station in Skerries and our flanking stations in Howth and Clogherhead.' The RNLI invited submissions from artists for an inspirational design. A selection panel representing all areas of the RNLI chose a design by sculptor Sam Holland. Her steel sculpture depicts a lifesaver in a boat, saving another from the water, and was thought to symbolise the history, and future, of the RNLI. The names of those who lost their lives will be engraved in steel bands around the base of the memorial sculpture.

'Significant research has been undertaken both at headquarters and at our stations to identify over 750 individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice, but given the passage of time and the vagaries of record keeping over the years, we sadly still have some unknowns or missing initials.'