Fethard History

1884 A station was opened at Fethard to cover Bannow Bay.

1886 The RNLI took over the lifeboat station and a boathouse was built near the quay.

1913 The Committee of Management decided to close Fethard when a motor lifeboat was due to be placed at Dunmore East in 1914.

1914 The lifeboat Helen Blake capsized on a service to the wrecked schooner Mexico on 20 February. Nine of her crew tragically died – Coxswain Christopher Bird, Bowman Thomas Hendrick, and Crew Members Michael Hendrick, James Morrissey, Patrick Roche, Patrick Cullen, William Bird, William Banville and Patrick Butcher.
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum were awarded to the five surviving crew members, Honorary Secretary GL Bassett and Captain Busher of the tug Wexford for their efforts during this service.

A memorial to the lifeboatmen can be seen in Fethard centre.

The station closed after the disaster.

1995 The station was reopened. An inshore lifeboat station (ILB) was established with a D class lifeboat. The ILB was kept in the original 1886 boathouse, which was refurbished.

1998 The D class lifeboat, D-528 Arthur Harris, was placed on service on 10 February, funded from a bequest of Marguerite Joan Harris.

Station honours

At Fethard lifeboat station the following awards have been made:

Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum 7