AS the all-weather Courtmacsherry lifeboat the Val Adnams reflected in the morning sunshine last Saturday morning, The Southern Star met with the recently retired Mark Gannon on the pier, an appropriate location to recall his half century as a member of the local lifeboat.
So much has changed since Mark joined the crew back in 1975, and he can easily remember his first call-out to a local fishing vessel that had gone on fire just outside the bay.
‘It was around two o’clock in the afternoon and there was myself, Paddy Keohane (coxswain), Brendan Madden (mechanic) – both now deceased – Brian, and Johnny O’Dwyer and we headed off. Another local vessel, The Celtic, actually rescued the two fishermen that were on the boat that was on fire: the two men took to the life raft and the Celtic picked them up.’
The Helen Wycherley (1969-1987) was the station boat at the time.
Since then, the other boats stationed in Courtmacsherry were the R Hope Roberts (1987-1993) the Frederick Storey Cockburn (1995) and since 2023, the Val Adnams.
Several other relief boats have also served time in Courtmacsherry.
The lifeboat remains a huge part of the community and that’s easy to understand.
In fact, this year is the 200th anniversary of the first lifeboat, The Plenty, to arrive in Courtmacsherry.
‘It’s entrenched in our DNA and in the village and you can see why it’s survived for 200 years. It’s great to see the commitment to serving,’ said Mark.
‘The interest in serving on the lifeboat is fantastic, more so now than ever it was before. We had a call out last week and there must have been about 12 people turned up, all probably 35 years younger than myself. It’s great to see the young people that have the interest. It’s just a part of the community.’
The RNLI’s Val Adnams is state-of-the-art and represents modern day progress, said Mark.
‘It’s very technologically advanced. You go onboard and everybody’s got a screen, it’s all computer driven. It’s the same with the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat station; it has to keep up with the times. That’s the ethos and it’s the same for the training as well. There’s a big commitment from crew now.
‘It’s not like the olden days where you would just grab a life jacket and run down the slip and hop aboard the boat.’
One of Mark’s calls on the Samuel Kelly (one of 25 relief boats to serve in Courtmacsherry) brought to light the stark comparison with vessels of the past.
‘We were nearly out for 24 hours, and there was no side doors on the wheelhouse, so the waves were going from one side of the wheelhouse into the other, from the port side to the starboard side, or vice versa.’
It seems like only yesterday when the Gannons came from Westport to West Cork, and chose Courtmacsherry as their home.
In the early 1970’s the family were driving the coast road along Harbour View when his mother Catherine, who only passed away recently, enquired as to the name of the village across the bay and said ‘that’s where we will live’.
It proved to be a superb choice. Mark, who has served as deputy coxswain in Courtmacsherry and relief coxswain at other stations along the coast, is proud of the place he calls home.
‘Courtmacsherry has been good to us. It’s a lovely village, and we’ve had great, great happy family times here and continue to do so.’
Mark’s wife Trish was a crew member for 17 years, and their son Mark John is one of six current coxswains at the station; his brother Dara is also a crew member as was another brother Adrian. Of course, it’s not the end of Mark’s seafaring career, as along with his wife Trish, he will continue to run Atlantic Whale and Wildlife Tours.
