Tramore RNLI Volunteers honoured for years of dedicated service including twins with 100 years between them

An extremely significant milestone was celebrated by Tramore RNLI recently during a charity ball event held at the Majestic Hotel.

The Ritz Tramore Charity Lifeboat Ball took place in the run up to Christmas and on the night the RNLI recognised five of its volunteers who between them, had given an incredible 160 years service to the station and the community of Tramore.

In an online acknowledgement of their contribution, a Tramore RNLI spokesperson noted: 'What makes this year particularly remarkable for Tramore Lifeboat RNLI is that twin brothers Derek and Damian Musgrave have each reached 50 years of volunteering. A century of RNLI lifeboat commitment from one family - and from twins - must be very rare indeed. Derek and Damian's contribution to Tramore lifeboat station over the decades has been immense - always calm and always with a steady guiding hand.'

The award recipients on what was a very special night included: Derek Musgrave – 50 years (Chairman of Tramore RNLI, former Lifeboat Operations Manager, and former crew); Damian Musgrave – 50 years (Former Honorary Treasurer, Operations Management Team and former crew); Patricia Keneally – 20 years plus (a key member of the fundraising team and many additional years as RNLI Helm and crew); David O’Hanlon – 20 years current, RNLI Helm and crew; Ian Flynn - 20 years current RNLI Helm and crew.

'These are local volunteers from Tramore, who show up without fuss, answer the pager at all hours, train week in and week out, and quietly keep this station running,' noted the spokesperson.

'Their years of service have supported countless challenging callouts, helped train new crew, and kept Tramore Bay safe through every kind of weather.'

The crew members' families and partners were also acknowledged for their ongoing support of the volunteers.

'Their support is huge - especially on the evenings, nights, and weekends when the pager goes off and family plans are thrown out the window,' noted the spokesperson.

'We’re incredibly proud of all five of our members and of all our volunteers whose dedication and teamwork makes Tramore Lifeboat Station what it is'.