Lough Ree Lifeboat Station
| Inshore Lifeboat | |
|---|---|
| Launch Method | Carriage |
| Address | Coosan Point, Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland |
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
Lough Ree Lifeboat Station is an inland station at Coosan Point, just north of Athlone, on Lough Ree — the second-largest lake on the River Shannon, straddling Counties Westmeath, Roscommon and Longford. Established in 2012, it covers a long, island-studded lake that is effectively a small inland sea, busy with cruisers, anglers and sailing craft. The station operates an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat.
After the Irish Coast Guard took responsibility for inland search and rescue, and following a request from the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, the RNLI agreed to place a lifeboat on Lough Ree, the second-largest of the lakes on the River Shannon. Some 29 kilometres long, dotted with islands and edged with reedy shallows, the lough draws thousands of leisure craft each year but is exposed to sudden squalls. A site at Coosan Point, just north of Athlone, was found to be central and well supported by a local volunteer crew. The station was established in 2012 and has operated successive Atlantic-class inshore lifeboats, the current Atlantic 85 Tara Scougall (B-920) arriving in 2019. Straddling Counties Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon and fed by the River Inny, the lough sees the crew train year-round for cold-water rescue, assisting cabin cruisers, anglers and swimmers across its island-strewn waters. Together with the RNLI’s station on neighbouring Lough Derg, Lough Ree provides rescue cover across the busiest navigable lakes of Ireland’s longest river.
