The Dun Laoghaire RNLI held a ceremony honouring the lives of crew members and lifeboat volunteers who lost their lives at sea.
The event on Friday marked 200 years since four crew members died on a call out as well as honoured the memory of 15 lifeboat volunteers who died on service 126 years ago.
The short service at the end of the East Pier also commemorated all lives lost around our coasts and on inland waters in 2021.
During a service to the brig Ellen in an easterly gale on 28 December 1821, the lifeboat with 14 crew members onboard, was swamped and the crew were washed out of the lifeboat with four people losing their lives; Hugh Byrne, Thomas Fitzsimons, John Archbold and Thomas Grimes.
On Christmas Eve in 1895, the number two lifeboat was capsized in gale force winds while proceeding to the assistance of the SS Palme of Finland that had run aground off Blackrock. All 15 crew members onboard, drowned.
The lifeboat service on Dublin Bay is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to 1803 and a lifeboat was based at nearby Sandycove as one of several local stations.
There was a joint guard of honour provided by representatives from the Dun Laoghaire Coast Guard Unit and Civil Defence.
The Covid compliant ceremony featured musician William Byrne performing The Ballad of the Palme and Sports broadcaster Des Cahill who reading a newspaper account of the disaster, which was published at the time.
An ecumenical blessing was given by Reverends Bruce Hayes and Fr. Padraig Gleeson before a lament was played by piper Paul McNally.
To get the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up for our free newsletter
