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Tuesday evenings Community programme ‘Community Matters’ with Breandan O’Scannaill. Kindly sponsored by Connemara Credit Union. Broadcast Tuesday the 9th Of April 2024 https://www.connemarafm.com/audio-page/
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Tuesday evenings Community programme ‘Community Matters’ with Breandan O’Scannaill. Kindly sponsored by Connemara Credit Union. Broadcast Tuesday the 9th Of April 2024 https://www.connemarafm.com/audio-page/
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Tuesday evenings Community programme ‘Community Matters’ with Breandan O’Scannaill. Kindly sponsored by Connemara Credit Union. Broadcast Tuesday the 9th Of April 2024 https://www.connemarafm.com/audio-page/
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Community Matters is sponsored by Connemara Credit Union and features various guests discussing different topics. Ray Burke from Piazza House talks about Darkness Into Light, an event that raises funds and awareness for suicide prevention. He explains that Piazza House provides support to those affected by suicide and self-harm, and the event helps fund their services. Ray discusses the origins of Darkness Into Light and how it has grown over the years. He emphasizes the importance of the event in promoting solidarity and hope for those in dark places. He encourages people to participate in the walk and explains how to register and fundraise. Ray also mentions the 24/7 helpline provided by Piazza House for those in need of support. Community Matters is kindly sponsored by Connemara Credit Union Ltd, incorporating Clifton, Tolleycross and Carna branches. Connemara Credit Union is here to serve the people of the Connemara area. Main office, Clifton and Tolleycross branch, 195-211-01. Right, a great program there, Mary, thank you very much. Lovely music and Ozolos and the cat along the way as well. Now, you're welcome to Community Matters here with me, Brendan O'Scannell. I hope you'll stay with me. We have a very full program. Ray Burke will be talking to us from Piazza House about Darkness Into Light. We'll have Elinor Murphy from SUSI, which is the Student Universal Support Ireland. And we'll have John Britton from the RNI in Clifton talking about his voluntary, his retirement and also developments in the service there. And Eamon Cleave, Galway West TV, will be giving us an update on what's happening in the area. So that's to keep us going before the end of the program. But I'm delighted to welcome Ray Burke, Advocacy and Public Engagements Manager at Piazza House. Ray, you're very welcome to us here on Connemara Community Radio. Good evening, Brendan. Lovely to speak with you and good evening to your listeners. Good, good, good talking to you. And Ray, before we go on any further, and I presume there's really no need to do it in a flood stage, but a lot of people, most people would be very familiar with Piazza House. But just tell us a little bit about the background to Piazza House. Yeah, no problem. So Piazza is the national charity supporting people affected by suicide and self-harm. So we were established in 2006. And back then we had one centre that was established in Lucan. And we've grown quite a bit since then. And we provide services now all across Ireland by phone, by video. We provide therapy and supports to people who are affected by suicidal ideation, self-harm, and people who have been bereaved by suicide. So Darkness and Delight actually has been a huge support in terms of the development of Piazza over the years. And so I'm really thrilled to be able to come on and to speak with you and your listeners about how important it is, of an event it is, and how much we're looking forward to it this year, really. Yeah, because I suppose it seems to have attracted people's attention, this whole Darkness and Delight. I mean, it's an amazing experience and it's an amazing idea. How did that come about? Where did that idea come from? Yeah, I suppose it would have come about, really, back in 2009. Mostly developed by local people, particularly in the Dublin area, who had, obviously, concerns about issues of suicidal ideation, self-harm and bereavement that affected them and their local communities. And so they decided to set off to raise funds for Piazza to enable us to provide services and supports in the area. But also, I suppose, to stand in solidarity with people who are affected by these issues. So the first Darkness and Delight walk took place in the Phoenix Park in 2009. So there were about 400 people that set off on that walk that morning. And since then, it's grown exponentially. So last year, in 2023, over 100,000 people took part in Darkness and Delight in countries outside of Ireland, as well as inside of Ireland. And so, you know, it's really a colossal event. And so, so important for our organisation. It really enables us, as we say, to deliver the services that we do to people across the country. So, yeah, humble beginnings, I suppose, from 400 to 100,000 is a pretty amazing journey. And of course, it is a fundraising event, which is a wonderful way for you to gather the money. But it's also very important as a way of getting your message out and getting your name out there. Without question, yeah. And I think, you know, as well as raising awareness, you know, that our services are there and available to people 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It also gives people the opportunity to stand in solidarity with people who are affected by suicide, by the Haitian self-harm, and for people who have been bereaved by suicide. And look, I mean, you know, you wouldn't have to look too far. I think it's an issue that really affects everybody, and everyone will know, and every community across the island has been affected by many of these issues. And so I think it's such an important opportunity. I suppose when you do the walk, you really get that sense of togetherness. You get that sense of hope, and really that's what PIETA is about. It's about hope for people who are often in very, very dark places. But hope is there, and as I say, as a fundraising event, it does a huge amount to enable us to be there for people and to provide the types of supports that we do. And of course, you know, that whole idea of darkness into light is so important in the sense of people with mental illnesses and with issues that, you know, they are in very dark places. And by giving them a little chink of light, it hopefully encourages them to move out and to see a better world for themselves. Absolutely. I think it's really symbolic, isn't it? And, you know, for people who have done the walk and, you know, they'll have seen it for themselves, moving from the darkness and as the dusk rises, you know, there's people enjoying, I think, at that time in the morning, a silence together, reflecting on, you know, challenges that they may have seen in their community or in their families, and really walking into the light. And that really symbolizes the hope, you're right, 100%. And so it's a really, I think, refreshing, rejuvenating event. And so I look forward to it every year. I do my one in Phoenix Park, which is quite local to me. But there are locations across Ireland that you can do your walk in, including lots across Connemara. And there, you know, there's also the option of people doing the walk in their own way for whatever reason they can't make it on the morning of Saturday, the 11th of May. You know, they can do it in their own way. And I think that gives people really a nice opportunity and some flexibility to maybe to come together with their family or their friends and to mark the occasion, as I say, to enjoy that bit of solidarity together. Yeah, absolutely. Now, you mentioned there Saturday, the 11th of May for 2024, that particular one. How do people get involved? How do they support this in that way? OK, so people can go on to our website, darknessintolight.ie, and they can register for the event. So as I say, there's locations all across Connemara. So, yeah, you can do your walk, for example, in An Cadraí Rua, Clifton, Inishmaan, Inishmore, Inishere, Inishboston, Kylemore Abbey, there's really lots of places that you can take part in the event. And you'll find out all of that information on the website, darknessintolight.ie. And as I say, if you want to do the walk in your own way, if for whatever reason you're not able to do it on that morning, then you can get some guidance and some ideas and some support via that website. And that'll help you get registered and start to arrange your walk. OK, so is there a general registration fee, or do people fundraise separately and bring in extra money, or how does that work? Yeah, so there is a general registration fee. It costs €26 to register and to participate in the walk. People can also fundraise in addition to that. And it's the same if you want to do Darkness in the Light in your own way. You can register, and then if you'd like, you can raise additional funds. As I say, the funds raised from Darkness in the Light, they really support the frontline services that we deliver, and they do huge amounts in terms of enabling us to really deliver on that really critical support. So just to give you some context on that, Brendan, so last year we would have received more than 115,000 calls and texts to our helpline. We would have provided more than 50,000 hours of counselling and psychotherapy to over 6,500 people affected by suicidal ideation and self-harm. We also deliver a huge range of education, training and prevention programmes in schools all across the country. So Darkness in the Light is such an enormous part of what PATA is, and it's really critical and fundamental to enabling us to actually deliver. And, look, it makes you really, I think, creative staff. It's such a proud day, the morning of Darkness in the Light, because we can really see how many people care about the work that we do. We can see that they're reaching for their pocket, for their hard-earned money to really support the critical work that they do. And I suppose it shows the real concern that people have about suicidal ideation and self-harm across Ireland. So it's a really proud day for us as an organisation. So we're really excited about it this year. Yeah, absolutely. Now you mentioned some of the various services there, and I suppose one that would be available to people from anywhere, which is very useful, would be the 24-7 helpline. Tell me a bit about that. How do people contact you? Okay, so the 24-hour helpline, the number is 1-800-247-247. So our helpline is fully staffed by qualified counsellors and psychotherapists. So if you feel that you need to speak to someone and you're in a difficult space and you're experiencing suicidal ideation, so apparently you think you would benefit from speaking to someone about that, then our therapists are there, as I say, 24-7, 365, and they will speak to you. And they're available and they're skilled and really experienced. I'm so lucky actually to work with the therapists in PA because they do an absolutely phenomenal job. And as I say, people can, if they feel that they could benefit from this support, they should reach out. And that's so important. I think, you know, we've spoken a lot, I think, in this country over many years about stigma that surrounds mental health. And much of that actually hinders people reaching out for support. And I suppose it's really important to encourage people to do that, you know, to reach out and to speak about their mental health and to speak about maybe some of the difficult feelings that they're having. And so the 24-hour helpline is a really, really important way that people can do that, I suppose. Yeah, because I suppose it's so important to speak to people. That's always the thing. It's very hard to do it, but it's so important. But very often, I suppose, you're actually the last port of call. You should be really the first one for people to go to straight away. Yeah, I mean, like, you know, suicidal ideation, you know, it's not, it's a very unique experience. It's the same for everybody, and lots of people have lots and lots of different experiences. But as I say, our therapists are phenomenal people, incredibly experienced, and they really know how to provide that support when people are experiencing difficult situations. I suppose one of the good things about the helpline as well is that it's really linked in with our accounting and psychotherapy service. So if people felt that actually after the phone call what would be helpful is to engage in a course of therapy with professional accredited counsellors and psychotherapists, then they can do that, and that can be arranged. And we have centres all across the country. We also provide therapy online and over the phone. So even if you're, maybe you don't feel up to making the journey towards a PA centre, you can actually do it from the comfort of your own home and the safety of your own home. So that's a really good option as well. We have two centres actually in Galway. We have one in Galway City and we have one in Tune too. But as I say, if people feel safer and more secure in doing this from their own home, they can do that online and over the phone. And that's really been actually a development since COVID when obviously people couldn't leave their home. And so the online video and phone therapy really came into its own then and it's become a really important part of how we support people across the country now. Okay. Well, Ray, listen, it's great talking to you. And as I say, continued success with the work. I'm always saying to people who are doing work like you that I wish that you weren't there at all, that there was no need for you. But unfortunately you are. You do a terrific work to support people who really need help. So thank you so much for being with us this evening on the programme. Thanks, Ben. Good evening. Okay. Thanks, Ray. Bye. That's Ray Barkdale who's advocacy and public engagement manager with PA to House. And of course, that Darkness into Light registration will be open now or you can get on to them. If you get on to darknessintolight.ie, you get the information. Or as he said there, you can contact them at 1-800-247-247. That's for Crisis Helpline. Or you can text HELP to 51444 and get in contact with them as well. So the date for that is Saturday, May the 11th, 4.15 in the morning. You can register and you can take part and you can fundraise. You can bring in a lot of extra money if you want for a wonderful, wonderful group. And as I say, hugely important part of people's calendar every year to take part in this particular Darkness into Light service. So we're going to take our break for the ads. After that, we would hope to have Eleanor Murphy, who's talking to us about a student, Universal Support Ireland, about the applications for 2024-25 opening now. King's Paper Shop, from toys to gifts to cards and more, all you could need behind one door. 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As I mentioned, we were going to look at SUSI, which is the Students' Universal Support Ireland. And to find out more about this, I'm delighted to welcome Eleanor Murphy, who is Communication and Customer Service Manager with SUSI. Eleanor, you're welcome to see us here on Canterbury Community Radio. Hello, Granton, and thanks so much for having me. No problem at all. No problem. Just give me a little bit of background to SUSI. Who are you exactly? Sure. So SUSI is Ireland's national awarding authority for all further and higher education grants. We provide funding to eligible students attending courses at PLC, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In the current academic year, we've received over 104,000 applications with 83,000 students awarded funding. And we're now open for the new academic year, 24-25. So we're encouraging anyone who is considering attending a further or higher education course in the new academic year to check out our website, susi.ie, to see if they might be eligible for funding and if so, make an application. Yeah. And I noticed here on the press release as well that there's a possibility for students studying in the UK and EU, they could be funded as well. Is there a special way of doing that particular type of funding? Sure. So for undergraduate students, if they meet all the eligibility criteria, a maintenance grant may be available if they are studying an approved course outside the Irish state. There is an eligibility indicator on our website and it's a really quick and easy tool to use. It just takes a couple of minutes. And if you put your details in there, you can get an indication of your eligibility for funding from that. Okay. So you said it's open for application now. So how do people go about doing that then? Absolutely. So the first thing I'd say is to check out the eligibility indicator and that will give you a sense of your indication of eligibility for funding. And then if you get a good indication from there, you can register through susi.ie for an account with SUSI and from there then you can make your application. So before you start your application, we will need a little bit of detail. So I would say have some items to hand and it will make the whole process much easier. So things like your PPS number and your income details will be really useful because we do look at the total household income. And in order to be eligible, the total household income must fall under specified thresholds. Okay. So are there different levels then for people doing various parts there because you've mentioned all the different pieces of the undergraduates, postgraduates, PLCs. I presume there's different fees and different things involved. So does each area that you're thinking of doing have different criteria as such? That's right. So the website has all the details here for the students depending on the journey that they're taking, whether they're PLC, undergraduate or postgraduate. But what we can see there is that the maintenance grant rates are increasing in the new academic year and we've also seen an increase to some of the income thresholds. So for example, the special rate, the band for maintenance rate and the 100% student contribution grant are all increasing. So the income thresholds are increasing. So it is certainly worth taking a look there. But if we look specifically at the undergraduate students, for example, if a student's total household income is between €62,000 and €100,000 and they meet all the eligibility criteria, they may be eligible for a €500 student contribution fee grant. So that just gives some sense of the income thresholds there at the undergraduate level. OK. Is the grant that people will receive, is that towards their accommodation or towards their fees for colleges or books or whatever they might need? Or how does it get spent, I suppose? Sure. So there are two types of grants. There is a maintenance grant, which is towards the cost of the day-to-day and that then is paid directly to the student. And then there is also the fee grant. And again, it depends on what the student is eligible for. But the fee grant may be paid then directly to the college on behalf of the student. OK. And are these paid in advance of this? Or do you wait to the end of your season? Or how do people actually get access to this funding? Sure. So at the start of the academic year, in kind of September or October, we will begin paying the maintenance grant. And then that is paid every month on a nine-monthly basis. And then the fees are paid directly to the colleges for the students. OK. Now I suppose there is a lot of talk, and I was even listening to the minister, or in fact our new teacher, talking this evening. And he was talking about the access for people to get into colleges and universities and how it is going to be easier and how they are going to do more. Is it likely that your income will rise or you will be getting more power, if you know what I mean, to support people? Or has it been growing up over the last few years? So we administer the student grant funding in line with the legislation prescribed by the Department of Further and Higher Education. So we would be a demand-led scheme. So once we receive applications, we would assess them. And if students are eligible, they would receive funding on that basis. OK. Very important. Very important. So as you say, people should look up SUSE to try and find the information that they need to see what they need. But as you say, a little bit of work first. There is an eligibility indicator which might help them a little bit. Does that kind of lay out the ground rules, I suppose, for all of the various things they are going to be doing? The website has a full list of all the criteria. And then the indicator asks some questions and takes them through a couple of questions. And then at the end, they get a sense of whether they might be eligible for funding. And what we would just like as well is there is an important date to keep in mind for new applicants. It's the 11th of July. So we would encourage everyone to get their application in on or before that date to receive priority assessment because we want to ensure that there are decisions with as many people as possible before the start of the new academic year. I presume, like all of these things, it's better to try and get it early rather than leave it to last minute because of pressure, etc., for everybody. So, I mean, the application is now open, is it? That's right. And absolutely. Apply early. If you're a leaving first student and you'll be awaiting results and obviously you have to accept a course, but you can still apply now and just put the details of the course that you hope to attend. If that changes at a later date, you can update Suzy. Or alternatively, if you've indicated that you're happy for CAO to share your details with Suzy, they'll let us know directly and we can then take a look at the application. So, no need to have your leaving first results or to have accepted a course in order to apply. OK. So, it sounds very straightforward. And, of course, it's a very important aspect for people to think about is, you know, kind of funding because we all know that life in general is expensive, but for students and things like that and having to buy all the equipment, etc., can be really difficult. So, as you say, get on to Suzy and check things out now. But just, I suppose, again, remind us the address that people would get in contact with for yourselves, the website or the email address. Sure. It's Suzy.ie and it's spelled S-U-S-I. And we also have a support desk and we can be contacted by phone and the phone number is 0818 888 777 or, indeed, you can contact us by email and that is support at Suzy.ie. OK. Well, listen, that sounds fantastic. Thank you, Eleanor. Thank you, Eleanor. And, as I say, I'm sure lots and lots of people will want to have that on their phones and things like that. So, they will do it. So, just, yeah, OK. That's brilliant. So, thanks a million, Eleanor. And, as I say, good luck with that particular one. Thank you. Thanks, Brinton. OK. Thanks. So, we will talk with John Brinton to be up shortly. We'll have a little piece of music. Just before we go on to that, I suppose, just to remind people that if they are interested in getting on to Suzy, if you go on to S-U-S-I.ie, you will find information there. And it's probably worth looking into if you are thinking about going to college. So, we're going to take a little piece of music and after that we hope to have John Brinton. There were three cows in my hall, Lord. Take the raven and bow the oar. And one sang high and the other sang low. And away with the wreckage to the gypsy oar. It was up there's house that the lady went. She put on a suit of leather oar. And the trail around the front door was. And away with the wreckage to the gypsy oar. It was late that night. The Lord came in and quite far. And the lady o'er the servant girl. And away with the wreckage to the gypsy oar. Then left me in a big white steam. And the cart did not see me ho. And I'm a-ridin', a-seekin', a-ridin'. And away with the wreckage to the gypsy oar. And he rode east and he rode west. And he rode north and south and south. And then he rode some way to the sea. And it was there he found the wreckage to the gypsy oar. And away with the wreckage to the gypsy oar. And away with the wreckage to the gypsy oar. And away with the wreckage to the gypsy oar. And away with the wreckage to the gypsy oar. Girl, why don't you leave your house and your land? Why don't you leave your money, oh? And why don't you leave her only with a thought in her way? With the wreckage to the gypsy oar. Then at night she'll be goose for the bed. She'll blank the door, she'll call me ho. And tonight she'll lie in the white upper stays of the yard. With the wreckage to the gypsy oar. And he rode east and she rode west. And he rode north and south and south. But she'd rather have a kiss from the yellow gypsy dip Than all the cash and the money, oh. But she'd rather have a kiss from the yellow gypsy dip Than all the cash and the money, oh. And of course, as I say, we wanted to talk to John Britton About the lifeboat, the RNLI in Clifton. And he was, or is, was lifeboat operations manager But retiring after 30 years of voluntary service. And John, you're very welcome to us here again on Con America Music Radio. Well, thanks for having me on, Brendan. It's nice to get the chance to talk about the RNLI. Absolutely. Well, listen, I suppose, first of all, congratulations on retiring That's the right word to use. But thank you so much for your 30 years of work. I know you were so involved with it over all of that time. Give me a little bit about those particular years Because really, I suppose, that was the whole development Of the lifeboat system here in Con America. More or less. I joined on in, I think, 92 or 93. And I think Adrian O'Connell got it started in around 88, 89, 90 That sort of time. So it hadn't been around for very long when I started. And we had a C-class lifeboat Which was basically a rubber dinghy with two 40 horsepower engines on it. It was a mighty yoke. And very uncomfortable. But it was a terrific seaboat. In fact, one of the Coxsons' sons, James Mullen His young lad, Ronan Bortle They found it for sale second hand in Wales And Bortle put it back in Clifton again That very same boat. But anyway, that's an aside, really. Yeah. It would have been fairly basic, I'm sure, in those days But the crew wouldn't have been as big And wouldn't have been properly as well organised And I'm not saying there was anything wrong with them in any sense But you didn't have all the facilities that you have now So it must have been relatively challenging in those days. It was, yeah. The RNLI always relied on And still does rely on Sort of three pillars, if you like. One of them is equipment Boats and PPE and all that kind of stuff The second one is training And the third is people And the RNLI supply the first two The boats and equipment But the community supply the people And none of it works without the other two, if you understand me And really the most important thing of the whole lot is the people Because you can do something with limited equipment and so forth But you can do nothing without people And they come from the community And back then we had less equipment and less training But we had very willing volunteers And still do, of course Because that's what makes it all tick That's what makes it work And back then the equipment was different It's got a lot better But modern equipment is very good It doesn't fail It is very good The RNLI itself, the work that's involved there is incredible work Because saving lives at sea is hugely important And we all know the service that has happened But I suppose equally is the recovery of people who have unfortunately died at sea Such a tragic thing But at the same time for families to be able to grieve Without people like RNLI It would be almost impossible So you play a hugely important role in the people's lives Around the coast, not just here in Connemara But all over the coast of Ireland and England Yeah, absolutely And often the services that result in people being brought ashore Are relatively low key You might go in and tow somebody in It's relatively minor Because the situation hasn't developed into something worse And thankfully most people tend to call us in time So we'd much prefer to be called to an incident Which turns out to be nothing Because it's resolved itself Rather than for somebody to wait until they really are in trouble And then get on the phone or the VHF or whatever it is And call us out then Because then we really have got something to do So it's much better to get called out to an incident And turn around and have to go home again Without doing anything But those ones The tragedies And there have been in those years That I was on the RNLI crew There were a few of them And they are unbelievably sad Awful And I hated them always And in my time as the manager of the station I would be on shore mostly And I'd often be You'd often be standing on a pier Or wherever it was And the families of the people that were missing were there And I really hated that It was terrible It was so awful seeing the pain they were going through Yeah So I won't miss that one little bit I'm afraid I'd be pleased not to have to do that again But the successful services Were very rewarding for us And they were what makes it all work Yeah, absolutely Now the other thing I suppose We're very fortunate that we have The Coast Guard We have different various bodies Who are looking after people The helicopters, all of that So in a way RNLI plays a part Within a much bigger Organisation in the sense of Trying to save people's lives So how do all of these services work together? Do they work very well together? Or do you find it can be difficult at times? No, not at all There's The Coast Guard We sort of meet the Coast Guard In three areas There's the local Coast Guard Who we work with So if there's a call out for somebody That's in trouble Around the shore Very often we'll be called to search The shoreline from the sea And the Clegg and Coast Guard unit Will be called to search it from the land So we're working together with each other All the time Under those conditions Then there's the helicopter That's also part of the Coast Guard service So we work with that as well Because they'll be called out very often To the same calls as we do And then the guys who are controlling the whole thing Is the Coast Guard In our case it's the Coast Guard Of Mallinhead So we come into contact with the Coast Guard In three areas And we work with them all the time They're terrific They've always been the best They're very good Give us an idea Of how An emergency develops In the sense of what happens How do you get the first phone call About some sort of a situation What do you do And how do you get people out onto the water Well as I said We're hoping that people will call early So if they see something happening They'll give us a call And what happens is The call will go through to Mallinhead Coast Guard And they will decide What assets as they call them Who they want to send To the person that's in trouble And if it's us They will ring The RNLI Launching Authority So there is somebody One of our volunteers Is on duty 24-7 To be the point of contact If you like Between the crew and the Coast Guard So if the Coast Guard The Coast Guard will ring And we have a dedicated number The Coast Guard rings that number And they get through to the Launching Authority And the Launching Authority will decide How they are going to respond Are we going to send We have two boats In the station in Clifton We have the inshore boat and we have an all other boat And they decide which combination Of which boat to send Depending on what the emergency is And then they set off Our pagers And we have a paging system So they set off that And the paging system is able to Launch one boat or the other Or both So the pager goes off And the crew make their way down to the station As fast as they can And basically as soon as there is a crew ready Crew has assembled For whichever boat is tasked To go to the emergency They will take the boat and go as soon as they can And generally speaking The smaller boat The inshore boat It's 10 minutes of the pager going off It's at sea So it's pretty quick The bigger one takes a little bit longer Because there is a bit more to do with it But it's generally Leaving the mooring within 15 minutes or so Of the pager going off And then they are at sea So the lads The lads will be going to sea very often They won't know what the emergency is They will have very little information about it As they are going out to bay And they will get on to the Coast Guard And the VHF straight away And say this is Whichever lifeboat it is We have just launched on service And the Coast Guard will give them all the information That they can on the VHF As they are going out to sea So it's pretty quick The whole thing Generally speaking the response time Is about 10 or 15 minutes From the pager going off I know when you listen to People talking about this There is obviously, I don't mean a hierarchy But there are different people taking different roles And you hear about the cocks And you hear about this that and the other Is each time people go out Is there this kind of pattern That there is somebody in charge And there is somebody doing something else Do you have it worked out That there is always somebody playing the roles That are needed Yes there is For each of the boats to go to sea There have to be Certain people on board For the inshore boat there has to be A helmsman So that's one of our crew Who has done all the training And has been passed A little exam at the end of it all To say that they are able And competent to do To act as a helmsman on that boat So we have to have one of those guys And then we need two or three crew Either will do On the Atlantic 85 To get it to go to sea And then in the bigger boat We need two key people And one of them is the coxswain And he is the boss of the whole thing And the other one is the mechanic And once we have those two key people filled We need Three or four other guys As well who are crew And the crew will There is a navigator On board We need to get a navigator Who has got Training In the systems on the boat So we have I think it's four navigators Four lads that are trained To do the navigation And one of them needs to be on the boat as well So generally That's And the coxswains We have four coxswains On a roster So there is one of them on duty all the time And similarly the mechanics We have four mechanics And they are also on a roster And they are on duty all the time So one of those has to be present For it to launch the boat Amazing, as I say I'm always so much in awe of your Light work that has been done over the years And still is doing And of course your retirement now I suppose just means that somebody else You are also looking for people to take part In the RNLI in different roles So I mean how do people get involved Because I mean there is a lot of different jobs For people on land as well as at sea Well yeah absolutely there is Yeah there is We are definitely looking for A replacement for An LOM That's the lifeboat operations manager That's the position that I held For the last 14 years or so And we need somebody to do that And that's more about Obviously that's an onshore role It's much more to do with People management and so on And then We are always looking for crew We need to have About 25 to 30 Operational crew Sea going crew In the station at any one time To man To have enough of a pool To man the two boats And that's quite A tall ask because We are drawing that from The sort of Clifton area That sort of area And there is not That many people that are prepared To volunteer that sort of time And make that commitment So we are all the time looking for People that are interested in doing that Because we Need them badly And that could be sea going crew Or it can be the shore crew And the guys on the shore People tend to sort of Overlook them but they are really important They are the guys that drive the tractors That launch the boats They have to be there in order to get the boat to sea We can't go to sea without them And they have to be there when the boat Comes back in again They maintain equipment They are key personnel in the station The shore guys And then there are the Launching authorities Those are the guys that get the phone call from The Coast Guard And they need to understand what Boats we have, what crew we have available What's the best tool for the job And when they are on duty They are on duty 24-7 So there is a lot Of commitment to it but there is a great deal Of reward as well Because the RNLI offer They offer really good training We can't expect To have a crew made of Experienced seamen Because we are not going to get that So we get people That come from all walks of life And the RNLI Then trains them in the use of the equipment And the training they give Is excellent, it's really good They are well renowned for it So a volunteer Will be trained on how to Use his equipment Properly And then the equipment itself Is pretty much, they operate on a no fail Basis, it just has To be perfect So whenever a guy goes to sea He is trained properly And he is in or using A bit of equipment that isn't going to fail And that's The principle under which they operate And the reward From the crew point of view Is that you are using this fantastic equipment But you also get this really good training So you get trained in all sorts of things Really brilliant first aid courses VHF certificates Radar courses All sorts of things that they do You get all that For giving your Commitment as a volunteer Well John I have to leave it there unfortunately But thank you so much for being on And as I say congratulations on your retirement Sure there will be some sort of a celebration Of that because as I say the work that you have done Has been amazing over all those years But thank you for being with us this evening To talk about it Well thanks Brendan and if anybody is interested In volunteering In any capacity for the R&A Get in touch with me or the station Ok thanks a million, bye John Thank you Lifeboat Operations Manager retired Or retiring And if you are also interested you can contact 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 0871855714 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