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Killough Lifeboat Station

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Coordinates: 54°14′25.9″N 5°40′20.0″W / 54.240528°N 5.672222°W / 54.240528; -5.672222
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Killough Lifeboat Station
Rossglass beach
Killough Lifeboat Station is located in Northern Ireland
Killough Lifeboat Station
Rossglass, County Down
General information
StatusClosed
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
AddressRossglass
Town or cityKillough, County Down
CountryNorthern Ireland
Coordinates54°14′25.9″N 5°40′20.0″W / 54.240528°N 5.672222°W / 54.240528; -5.672222
OpenedRNLIPS 1825–1835
RNLI 1901–1914

Killough Lifeboat Station was actually located at Rossglass, 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) from Killough, overlooking Dundrum Bay, on the coast of County Down in Northern Ireland.

A lifeboat was first stationed at Rossglass in 1825 by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS), closing in 1835, when the station was relocated to Saint John's Point. A new lifeboat station was established Rossglass by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1901, following the closure of the station at Tyrella in 1899.[1]

After operating for just 13 years, Killough Lifeboat Station closed in 1914.[2]

History

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Rossglass Lifeboat Station was established at Rossglass, Co. Down by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1825.[3]

On 1 or 2 December 1825, the vessel Usk was wrecked off Rossglass, whilst on passage from Liverpool to Adra, Spain. Three of the crew were lost, but seven were rescued. Lifeboat Coxswain Thomas Foy was later awarded the RNIPLS Silver Medal.[4][5]

On passage from New Brunswick to Liverpool, the ship Sir James Kemp was wrecked in Dundrum Bay on 4 December 1829. Four boats, including the Rossglass lifeboat and the local coastguard boat, were launched. The Master, a woman and infant, and 12 crew were rescued. Volunteers Michael Casey and John Phillips were each awarded the RNIPLS Silver Medal.[6][7]

In 1835, the Rossglass station was closed, and the lifeboat was relocated to St John's Point Lifeboat Station, just 2.4 km (1.5 mi) to the south, at the tip of the peninsula, where Saint John's Point coastguard station was in operation. It remained in operation until 1843, when the lifeboat was condemned and sold. Likely due to the declining fortunes of the RNIPLS in the 1840s, the lifeboat was not replaced, and the station closed. It is reported that a private lifeboat operated at Rossglass until 1854, but no further details are available.[8]

The RNIPLS was revitalised in the early 1850s, primarily down to the efforts of president Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland, and secretary Richard Lewis, with the Institution changing its name to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1854.[9]

At a meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 12 October 1899, it was decided that the Tyrella Lifeboat Station would be abolished, and that a new station was intended to be (re)-established at Rossglass.[10]

In the RNLI journal 'The Lifeboat' of 1 February 1902, it was reported that the station had been established at Rossglass, where a boathouse with watch room and committee room had been constructed, at a cost of £977-15s-9d. A 35-foot Liverpool-class non-self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with sails and (12) oars, double banked, with two drop keels, was sent to the station in 1901. When required, the crew would be brought from Killough. A new carriage was also supplied, which would allow transportation to any site suitable for launch, and would also allow the lifeboat to be transported to Killough once-a-year, for one of her quarterly exercises. In accordance with the wishes of the local residents, the station was to be known as Killough Lifeboat Station.[11]

The lifeboat was funded from a legacy of £1050 received by the Institution, from the estate of the late Mrs. Helen Groome of Liverpool, and in accordance with her wishes, the lifeboat was named John Groome (ON 460).[11]

Operating for just 13 years, at the meeting of the RNLI committee of management on Thursday 12 February 1914, it was decided to close Killough Lifeboat Station. It is believed that the boathouse is still in use as a private residence. The lifeboat on station at the time of closure, John Groome (ON 460), was transferred to the relief fleet, later serving at Point of Ayr, before being sold in 1925. The boat was reported as a yacht in the 1930s in Portree, but is believed to have been broken up in Mochdre, North Wales in 2012.[12]

Station honours

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The following are awards made at Rossglass, Co. Down.[13]

Thomas Foy, Coxswain – 1927
Michael Casey – 1830
John Phillips – 1830

Lifeboats

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Rossglass

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ON[a] Name Built On Station[14] Class Comments
Pre-110 Unnamed 1825 1825–1835 18-foot Lifeboat [Note 1]
Station Closed, 1835
Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

St John's Point

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ON[a] Name Built On Station[15] Class Comments
Pre-110 Unnamed 1825 1835–1843 18-foot Lifeboat [Note 2]
Station Closed, 1843

Killough (Rossglass)

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ON[a] Name Built On Station[16] Class Comments
460 John Groome 1900 1901–1914 35-foot non-self-righting Liverpool (P&S) [Note 3]
  1. ^ a b c ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 18-foot lifeboat.
  2. ^ 18-foot lifeboat.
  3. ^ 35-foot x 10-foot (12-oared) non-self-righting Liverpool-class (P&S) lifeboat.

References

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  1. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. XVII (195): 552. 1 February 1900. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  2. ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 124.
  3. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 124.
  4. ^ Cox, Barry (1998). Lifeboat Gallantry. Spink & Son Ltd. p. 13. ISBN 0907605893.
  5. ^ "Ship News". The Morning Post. No. 17151. 8 December 1825.
  6. ^ Cox 1998, p. 27.
  7. ^ "Naval Intelligence". Liverpool Mercury. No. 971. 11 December 1829.
  8. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 1242.
  9. ^ "From the brink of disaster: Richard Lewis and the making of the modern RNLI". RNLI. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Summary of the Meetings of the Committee". The Lifeboat. XVII (195): 552. 1 February 1900. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". The Lifeboat. XVIII (203): 294. 1 February 1902. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  12. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 34–35.
  13. ^ Cox 1998, pp. 13, 27.
  14. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 2.
  15. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, p. 2–3.
  16. ^ Leonard & Denton 2025, pp. 6–35.
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