The arrival of Dauntless Courage, Celebrating the History of the RNLI Lifeboats, their crews and the Maritime Heritage of the Dunmore East Community was greeted with a wave of conflicting emotions this week. Joy at seeing the book finally in print, tears of relief after two years of work and pride in the satisfaction of realising a book conceived and raised within a community of volunteers that makes up the RNLI.
Opening the book was a thrill, and the satisfaction of the smell of all those tightly bound hard covered pages only heightened the expectation that comes whenever I open a book. Sometimes the first impressions are let down however, but not in this instance. From the wonderful historic painting on the cover by local marine artist Brian Cleare through to the hundreds of photos and images on the inside, the quality of all are amazing and really bring the book to life.
Running to almost 380 pages author David Carroll takes us on a journey through Dunmore. Quite rightly in my view, David doesn’t start with the first lifeboat, Henry Dodd, in 1884. He starts from the outset of the small little fishing hamlet through to the building of the pier and the coming of the mail packet. Throughout, David continues to ground the lifeboat service in the community of Dunmore and in the life and times of the community which serves to remind the reader that unlike perhaps any other volunteer service, the RNLI relies on the maritime community in which it resides.
David captures some of the more heroic rescues of the past such as the rescue of five fishermen aboard the St Declan in 1952 which saw Paddy Billy Power and Richard Power receive awards for their valour through to the more mundane, but no less important shouts such as the provisioning and repairs to the SS Pauline in Tramore Bay in December 1932. The book is so up to date, it even includes the Lily B rescue carried out off the Hook in October of this year.
There are also the first person accounts from personalities in the area, people that are synonymous with the service such as Joefy Murphy, Frances Glody or John Walsh. Sadly one of those recorded died before the book came to print, Stephen Whittle. But this just highlights the importance of the book still further, in capturing and recording the first person accounts of those who have given so much.
It also records the crew, and the photos of those behind the scenes, the station support, the fundraising committee, the less glamorous jobs but without which such a service has no hope of maintaining itself.
The book is a testament to the volunteer committee that established around David to fundraise to bring the book to fruition. It is also a timely boost to the fundraising fortunes of the station in these covid restrictive times. But it is also a testament to the abilities of David Carroll, ably supported by his wife Pauline, and his deep regard for Dunmore and the people of the RNLI that the book has come to print.
Dauntless Courage, Celebrating the History of the RNLI Lifeboats, their crews and the Maritime Heritage of the Dunmore East Community is David’s first book, but I hope it won’t be his last. It deserves to be read by anyone with an interest in Dunmore East, anyone who enjoys maritime history, and anyone who supports the work of the RNLI.
The book is currently flying off the shelves. For stockists of the book and online orders check out the project website
