The curtain fell on last weekend’s celebrations of 200 years of the RNLI in the West Cork village with the ‘Courtmacsherry Rhythms’, a unique concert in the Sacred Heart Church in Courtmacsherry.
The performance was a fitting and wonderful conclusion to the weekend’s festivities that were held to mark the 200th anniversary of the first lifeboat stationed in Courtmacsherry, The Plenty.
The concert represented a generational link as the composer Máire Ní Dhuibhir, who lives in County Galway, is originally from Courtmacsherry.
Her late father John was the honorary secretary of the the local RNLI from 1962 to 1976, and her brother Dan (second coxswain Courtmacsherry RNLI) was the recipient of a RNLI bronze medal for bravery for his role in the rescue of three people in 1998.
An Taoiseach Micheál Martin unveiled a plaque to mark the 200th anniversary of the first lifeboat (The Plenty) in Courtmacsherry. Also included are (left to right). Dara Gannon, Courtmacsherry RNLI, Brian O'Dwyer, LOM, Courtmacsherry RNLI, Cllr. Gillian Coughlan, deputising for Cllr. Joe Carroll, Mayor of the County of Cork, Christopher O'Sullivan Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Ian Binner, representing the RNLI. Photo: Martin Walsh.The concert, a collaboration between Music Matters, a Galway-based music education centre founded by Ms Ní Dhuibhir, and members of the local ‘Summer Songbook’ choir, had the venue packed.
For over an hour, the soloists Joanne Walsh and Paul Finn, the choir, and the string ensemble and players captivated their audience, from whom they received a well-deserved standing ovation following Óró mo Bháidín.
The weekend celebrations began last Friday evening in the Courtmacsherry Community Centre with a presentation and historical talk on the 200 years of the local RNLI, followed by a safety talk in the Pier House on Saturday.
The open days held over the weekend drew a great attendance at the pontoon, where people had the chance to go onboard the Courtmacsherry lifeboat, the Val Adnams.
Children and adults alike were delighted with the experience, hearing from crew members about the various equipment, before the visitors then made their way to the lifeboat station house.
