BEST WISHES! Stalwart of Lough Derg RNLI retires after 23 years of service
Senior Helm at Lough Derg RNLI retires after 23 years
After 23 years as a lifeboat woman, Eleanor Hooker has retired as Senior Helm at Lough Derg RNLI.
At a luncheon party for volunteers and their families, organised by Doireann Kennedy, Trainee Navigator and her sister Aoife, Lifeboat Administration Officer, members of the station marked Eleanor’s retirement with a specially commissioned painting of the Lough Derg Lifeboat “Jean Speir”, an Atlantic 85, in front of the Canal Store in Dromineer.
Eleanor was delighted to welcome friends and colleagues: Helena Duggan, Lifeboat Competency Development Lead: Coastal Training, and formally the station’s first Assessor/Trainer, who helped to train crew as Lough Derg RNLI was being established; Sean Ginnelly, Coastal Lifeboat Trainer who succeeded Helena for a number of years as Trainer/Assessor, and who travelled to Dromineer from Achill today.
Christine O’Malley, Lifeboat Operations Manager, and Niamh McCutcheon, Chairperson of Lough Derg RNLI Fundraising Committee and RNLI Council member, thanked Eleanor for her years of service to both operations and fundraising.
Eleanor says: “It has been one of my greatest honours to serve as an RNLI helm, and to be a member of a dedicated and outstanding team of volunteers down the years.”
Eleanor will continue in her other role at Lough Derg RNLI, as Lifeboat Press Officer.