Blackrock Lifeboat Station

Blackrock Lifeboat Station
Blackrock Shore
Blackrock, County Louth
Alternative namesDundalk
Blackrock (Dundalk)
General information
StatusClosed
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationThe Boat House, Cocklehill Rd, Haggardstown, Blackrock, County Louth, Ireland
Coordinates53°57′26.2″N 6°22′03.0″W / 53.957278°N 6.367500°W / 53.957278; -6.367500
Opened
  • 1859–1879
  • 1880–1935

Blackrock Lifeboat Station was located just off Coast Road, on the southern headland at Blackrock, a village overlooking Dundalk Bay to the south Dundalk, in County Louth, on the east coast of Ireland.[1]

The lifeboat station was originally known as Dundalk Lifeboat Station, and was established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1859, following the Mary Stoddard disaster. It is one of two stations that have been home to the 'Dundalk lifeboat', the other being at Giles Quay.[2]

After operating for 75-years, with a brief gap between 1879 and 1880, Blackrock Lifeboat Station was closed in 1935.[3]

History

A storm, which is described in the Shipwreck Inventory of Ireland as 'one of the worst storms to have hit the coastlines of County Louth', began on Tuesday 6 April 1858, and did not subside until the following Sunday. The barque Mary Stoddart was seen in distress in Dundalk Bay on the 6 April 1858. Numerous attempts were made over five days to rescue the crew, and four men lost their lives in the rescue efforts. The Captain and nine crewmen were finally rescued by H.M. Coastguard Chief Boatman Robert Shankey and his boat crew from Giles Quay on the 9 and 10 April, but seven crewmen of the Mary Stoddart had been lost.[4][5][6]

No fewer than 10 RNLI Silver Medals were awarded for the rescue efforts, and a memorial was erected in Roden Place, Dundalk, in memory of those men who gave their lives.[7]

In Memory
of
Captain James Kelly
Gerald Hughes
James Crosbey
and
James Murphy
who lost their lives
in a Noble and Humble Effort
to rescue the crew of the Barque
Mary Stoddart
wrecked in Dundalk Bay
on 9 April 1858

As a result of this disaster, the RNLI promised to place a lifeboat in the Dundalk area, on finding a suitable location. Lord Clermont had a lifeboat house built at his own expense at Blackrock, and a 30-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (6) oars, was placed there by the RNLI in 1859.[8]

A first service for the Blackrock lifeboat came on 19 September 1859, giving assistance to the vessel John James of the Isle of Man. A call on 22 August 1861 to the barque Frederick, on passage from Dublin to the West Indies, but wrecked at Dundalk harbour entrance, resulted in 21 lives being saved.[9]

Funded by children attending Sunday School, a new lifeboat Stockport Sunday Schools was placed at Blackrock in the summer of 1867. This boat was launched on the 2 July 1873, to the Glasgow barque Prince of Wales (recorded locally as the Princess of Wales), aground 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the lighthouse, and rescued 16 people. The wreck was a hazard to shipping for 20 years, and was eventually blown up.[10][11][12]

At certain times of the day, the tide was preventing any launch of the lifeboat from Blackrock. Following a visit by the second Assistant Inspector of Lifeboats in 1876, a site at Giles Quay (now Gyles' Quay), on the north side of Dundalk Bay, was considered for the relocation of the lifeboat, "in which position the boat would be two miles from the bar, but to windward of it, and able to launch at any time of tide."[13][14]

RNLB Stockport Sunday Schools was transferred over to the new station in 1879, and Blackrock lifeboat station was closed.[15]

Almost straight away, the decision was reversed, and in 1880, it was decided to reopen the Blackrock station, but also to retain the new Giles Quay station, where a new boat, James Thomas, was placed on station. Before the lifeboat Stockport Sunday Schools was transferred back to Blackrock, a race was held between the two station boats, Blackrock emerging victors, after a restart.[12][16]

A new 34-foot-6-inch (10.52 m) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat was placed at the station in 1885, funded from the bequest of the late Mrs Helen Blake of Handcross House, Sussex. The funds were received through Her Majesty’s Treasury, with the lifeboat named General R. Dudley Blake (ON 95) in memory of her late husband.[17]

In 1891, the Dundalk No.2 Station was renamed Blackrock Lifeboat Station.[18]

As is the way, the lifeboat was not required for 10 years, but then required for two rescues on the same day, 24 December 1895. The first, to the steamship Paragon, beached at Dunaney Point, required 3 hours of hard rowing to make the 2 miles (3.2 km) to the beached vessel, rescuing 11. The second, to the barque Ardendee of Liverpool, where another 11 people were rescued. It would then be another nine years before the lifeboat was once again needed. On that same day of 24 December 1895, all 15 crew of the Kingstown No.2 Lifeboat were lost in the Kingstown Lifeboat Disaster, whilst answering a call to the Russian barque Palme, on passage from Liverpool to South America.[12][19]

A new boathouse was constructed at Blackrock in 1900, at a cost of £400.[20]

In 1909, the lifeboat was replaced with a 35-foot lifeboat, again funded from the Helen Blake legacy, and again given the same name, General R. Dudley Blake (ON 593). On a call just before Christmas 1909, both lifeboats from Blackrock and Giles Quay stood by, until a tug came to tow the steam dredger Thames to harbour.[12]

With more powered vessels at sea, there were fewer and fewer calls on the lifeboat, and Blackrock would not be required again until 1923. In the last call out on 8 April 1923, the lifeboat brought ashore two passengers from the Fetlar, aground on the sand, but in no immediate danger.[12]

Blackrock lifeboat was called just five times between 1909 and 1935. With a motor-powered lifeboat placed at Clogherhead in 1931, at a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 11 July 1935, it was decided to close Blackrock Lifeboat Station. Launched 39 times since opening, the Blackrock lifeboat had rescued 75 people.[3][12]

The 1900 lifeboat station building still stands, somewhat neglected, but is reported as being used as an art studio. The lifeboat on station at the time of closure, General R. Dudley Blake (ON 593), was sold from service. As of December 2023, the boat was in storage and awaiting restoration, at Ardee, County Louth.[21]

Helen Blake

Helen Blake (née Sheridan) of Handcross House, Sussex, was the wife of Peninsular War veteran General Robert Dudley Blake, and inherited his estate on his death in 1850. She then inherited the entire estate of his brother, Sir Francis Blake. When Helen died aged 76 in 1876, she died intestate, and with no children or heirs - their one child had died in infancy - the entire fortune, worth around £120,000, was seized by The Crown.

Helen had actually made a will, with specific legacies of £19,400, but the will had never been signed. Despite this, HM Treasury, who are responsible for the distribution of all assets left by a intestate person, decided to honour most of the specific bequests. This included £6,400 to the RNLI, to purchase two lifeboats, to be placed at stations in Ireland. Two trust funds were set up, the Blake Lifeboat Maintenance Fund and the Blake Lifeboat Reward Fund. In all, the funds provided or maintained six lifeboats.[17][22]

  • General R. Dudley Blake (ON 95), Blackrock, (1885–1909)
  • Helen Blake (ON 100), Fethard, (1886–1897)
  • Helen Blake (ON 301), Fethard, (1897–1905)
  • Helen Blake (ON 546), Fethard, (1905–1914)
  • General R. Dudley Blake (ON 593), Blackrock, (1909–1935)
  • Helen Blake (ON 809), Poolbeg, (1938–1959)

Station honours

The following are awards made at Blackrock.[7]

Bernard Johnston, Captain of Steamer Enterprise – 1858
John Connick, Agent for The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society – 1858
Thomas Lewis, Mate, Earle of Erne – 1858
William Gilmer, First Mate, steamship Pride of Erin – 1858
Nicholas Crosby – 1858
George Elphinstone – 1858
John Hynds – 1858
Thomas McArdle – 1858

Blackrock lifeboats

Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboats

ON[a] Name Built On station[23] Class Comments[24]
Pre-345 Unnamed 1859 1859−1867 30-foot Peake Self-righting (P&S) [Note 1]
Pre-499 Stockport Sunday Schools 1867 1867−1879 32-foot Prowse Self-righting (P&S) [Note 2]
Station Closed 1879–1880
Pre-499 Stockport Sunday Schools 1867 1880−1885 32-foot Prowse Self-righting (P&S)
95 General R. Dudley Blake 1884 1885−1909 34-foot 2in Self-righting (P&S) [Note 3]
593 General R. Dudley Blake 1909 1909−1935 35-foot Self-righting (P&S) [Note 4]
  1. ^ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 30-foot x 6-foot 3in (6-oared) Peake-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £140
  2. ^ 32-foot x 7-foot 6in (10-oared) Prowse-class self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, gift of Stockport Sunday Schools LB fund, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £246.
  3. ^ 34-foot 6in x 7-foot 8in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mrs H. Blake of Handcross House, Sussex, built by Forrestt of Limehouse, London, costing £330.
  4. ^ 35-foot x 8-foot 3in (10-oared) self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, legacy of Mrs H. Blake of Handcross House, Sussex, built by Thames Ironworks of Blackwall, London, costing £892.

References

  1. ^ "Louth - Sheet 12". Maps. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  2. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 125.
  3. ^ a b "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee of Management". The Lifeboat. XXIX (323): 533. September 1935. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  4. ^ "1858 The Wreck of the Mary Stoddart". County Louth Ireland Genealogical Sources. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Wreck of the Barque 'Mary Stoddart' on the Irish Coast". The Lifeboat. 4 (29). July 1858. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  6. ^ Brady, Karl (1 October 2008). Shipwreck Inventory of Ireland – Louth, Meath Dublin & Wicklow. Stationery Office, Dublin. ISBN 9780755776184.
  7. ^ a b Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. p. 118. ISBN 0907605893.
  8. ^ "Blackrock Lifeboat". Dundalk Democrat. 25 September 1858.
  9. ^ Bourke, Edward J. (1 March 1998). Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast Vol.2 932–1997. ISBN 0952302713.
  10. ^ "Loss of the Princess of Wales". The Times. No. 27778. London. 26 August 1873. col. E, p. 6.
  11. ^ "Royal National Lifeboat Institution". Huddersfield Chronicle. No. 1873. Huddersfield. 8 August 1873.
  12. ^ a b c d e f McKenna, Patsy (1995). from the Boynes to the Mournes. A History of the County Louth Lifeboats 1856. Direct Print (Dublin) Ltd. pp. 17–25. ISBN 0952223503.
  13. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. IX (102): 624. 1 November 1876. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  14. ^ "XXVII.—Dundalk". The Lifeboat. X (105): 177. 1 August 1877. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  15. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 124–125.
  16. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 16.
  17. ^ a b "Handcross Park and the Blake Millions". The Slaugham, Handcross, Pease Pottage, Warninglid and Staplefield Archives. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  18. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 20, 125.
  19. ^ "Dun Laoghaire's station history". Dun Laoghaire Lifeboat Station. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Annual Report. 1900". The Lifeboat. XVII (196): 570. 1 May 1900. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  21. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 40–41.
  22. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 20, 28, 38, 40, 48.
  23. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 6–40.
  24. ^ Farr, Grahame; Morris, Jeff (1992). List of British Lifeboats Part 1 & 2 (Second ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 1–88.
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