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ADVENTURER BEAR GRYLLS has backed a new campaign to restore an Irish lifeboat that was involved in the attempt to save his great-grandfather’s life.
The television presenter’s relation, Sir Walter Smiles, was among 130 people who died in the Princess Victoria tragedy of 1953.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) volunteer crew at Donaghadee in Northern Ireland, aboard the Sir Samuel Kelly, risked their lives to save 33 passengers in the incident.
The lifeboat was also involved in saving yachtsmen during the 1979 Fastnet yacht race disaster.
Grylls said:
I am delighted to express my support and extend my best wishes to the Sir Samuel Kelly Project. I do so out of respect for the 133 passengers who were lost in the Princess Victoria tragedy of 1953. The dead include my great grandfather Sir Walter Smiles at whose home in Donaghadee I spent many happy summer days as a boy.
He said he also does so “out of respect for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the volunteer crew of the Sir Samuel Kelly lifeboat who battled monstrous seas for 36 hours and risked their own lives to rescue 33 people from the ferry”.
To the crew of today’s RNLI lifeboat based in Donaghadee, and the 234 RNLI lifeboat crews around the coasts of Britain and Ireland, I express my admiration at their courage and commitment.
He said that the restoration and preservation of the lifeboat, and the construction of a heritage centre in Donaghadee to provide it with a permanent home, “will create a fitting memorial to all those who were touched by the Princess Victoria tragedy”.
Restoration
A new initiative called the SSK Project has been set up to raise money to build a temporary shelter for the lifeboat.
The hope is that the public appeal will raise between £15,000 and £20,000.
The shelter was designed by architects Fraser Bell and Michael Collins, in order to allow the lifeboat to dry out so that the restoration job can be assessed.
The team behind the project also want to secure Lottery funding to build a permanent museum which would have the lifeboat as a centrepiece.
Project spokesman Ken Walsh said that the Sir Samuel Kelly is an important part of Ireland’s maritime heritage and is on the UK’s National Historic Ships register.
Restored, it will be a lasting memorial to the people who were lost in the Princess Victoria and Fastnet tragedies. It will also be a fitting tribute to the bravery of the RNLI crews who daily risk their lives to save others. With public support we believe we can raise the £500,000 needed to build her a fitting home in a town where she was stationed for 25 years and is still cherished.
The Sir Samuel Kelly lifeboat was named after a Belfast coal importer and philanthropist who died in 1937, and was built by J Samuel White & Co at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1950.
It was stationed at Donaghadee from 1951 until 1976, before becoming part of the RNLI reserve fleet at Courtmacsherry, Co Cork. It was retired in 1979.
The lifeboat was purchased by the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and passed to the project group in 1985.
Walsh added: “We know Bear has a special place in his heart for Donaghadee. He tells us it is where he found his love of the sea and the wild. We are delighted to have his support and encouragement.”
More information can be found at www.sirsamuelkellyproject.com or on Facebook.
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Inside job
@Misanthrope: definition someone with more knowledge than they should have had..
Nice that he wore a hi-vis. Good to see that health and safety is being taken seriously.
Who withdraws €55,000 in cash for any legitimate reason nowadays? Seriously??!!
@Ciarán McPhillips:
Are you trying to say the business was using the 55000 euro for illegitimate reasons
@Casper: what business? There is no mention of any business in the article above.
@Ciarán McPhillips:
Just because it’s not mentioned doesn’t mean it’s not a business
@Casper: well unfortunately I just read the facts outlined in the article. It must be much more interesting reading the news when you don’t allow the facts to get in the way. Maybe extra terrestrials appeared and abducted them and stole the money. I mean using your logic- just because it doesn’t say it…..
@Casper: Excellent retort there.
@Ciarán McPhillips:
Happy Xmas Ciaran
@Ciarán McPhillips: Agree, I smell a large hairy rat, who carries that amount of cash for either personal or business use nowadays ?
It just does not add up or make sense, why did bells not ring in the Bank either ?
@Casper: Well, if you happen to have that kind of cash on you boarding an aircraft, god help you.
@Ciarán McPhillips: hahahahahahaha just so good. I was saying boooourns.
@Ciarán McPhillips: The robbery happened outside Rialto credit union.
Who other than Cash in Transit Security withdraws €55,000 in cash from a Bank? 20-30 years ago understandable as possibly payroll. But today very very rare. One would have to ask questions as to what it was for.
@Mick Jordan:
Isn’t that the work of the Garda, like I am pretty sure this is all the stuff they will be looking into
@Mick Jordan: Paying a large sum of cash is not at all unusual. Many business sale deals are two thirds through the books, one third cash. Used to be fairly common. Same for selling commercial property. About 30% under the counter is common.
The questions would need to be asked of the person receiving it on such a transaction, rather than the person paying it over, assuming the person paying it over got it legitimately. If they took it from a bank, it’s very likely declared and legitimate income. Revenue know about deposits.
@Casper: my question is why did the Garda wait from the 7th to 21st before asking for witnesses
might be what I’ve heard called the ‘manage’ in cork. A couple of people collect money from colleagues all year, bank it, then give it back at Christmas time.
@Aidan Molyneux: that’s my question too. I’ve been in the area many times,but was I there exactly 2 weeks ago at lunch? Why the delay in looking for witnesses?
The more I read this the more peculiar it becomes
No description other an average height
No mention of any age profile
No mantion of any sort of accent
He approached on foot
Left on a bicycle
Having (presumably) followed them by car?
Tia less fishy in Leo Burdocks
@Ciarán McPhillips:
Keep reading you might come up with more
Why did the guards wait two weeks to make an appeal for dash camera video? How could anyone remember two weeks ago
@David Dickson:
Well if they look at the dash camera on that day the camera will jog their memories
@Casper: cams override constantly no storage
@David Dickson: Plus dash cams overwrite themselves.
I don’t think you can walk into a bank and just withdraw large amounts of cash on demand anymore, as far as I know it has to be ordered in advance.
If I was hedging my bets I’d be looking at an inside job.
Not very difficult to tip someone off to a large withdrawal, sure you even know the person’s name and address in advance.
An oddity amongst oddities
It was Santa ,
It’s the season for a bit of silliness and this inside job is pure silliness
@Casper: taking €55,000 out of a bank in cash is pretty silly too, I would say.
@Dave Murray:
Not if they have 55 members of family that they wanted to give a Xmas pressie of €1000 each
An amazing coincidence. Santa was early.
Sounds like a inside job.
Pedal Cycle; why use one word when you can use two
It sounds like a bloke year’s ago in a bank in Talbot st.someone lodged it .?
Probably an “inside family” job!
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