Portrush Lifeboat Station
| All-Weather Lifeboat | |
|---|---|
| Inshore Lifeboat | |
| Launch Method | Afloat |
| Address | Kerr Street, Portrush, County Antrim BT56 8DQ |
| Telephone | 028 7082 3201 |
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
Portrush Lifeboat Station guards the Causeway Coast from the Ramore Head peninsula on the north coast of County Antrim. Established by the RNLI in December 1860, it has served this exposed Atlantic shore for over 160 years and was the first station in Northern Ireland to receive a Severn-class all-weather lifeboat. Its long history holds both great gallantry — a string of Silver Medals across two centuries — and tragedy, including the 1889 loss of three crew. Today it runs a Severn and a D-class inshore lifeboat.
A branch of the Institution was formed at Portrush in December 1860, and a 30-foot single-banked lifeboat, the gift of Laura, Countess of Antrim, was placed on service, originally named Zelinda. Through the 19th century the station ran a succession of pulling-and-sailing lifeboats, moving to a new boathouse and slipway at Lansdowne in 1902 for the lifeboat Hopwood. The first motor lifeboat, the Watson-class T.B.B.H., arrived in July 1924, greatly extending the station’s reach, and was followed by the Lady Scott, which served almost 32 years.
The Civil Service No.39 Richard Evans saved 70 lives over 19 years before, in 2000, Portrush received Katie Hannan — the first Severn-class lifeboat stationed in Northern Ireland. After Katie Hannan was wrecked on rocks near Rathlin Harbour in January 2008 while assisting three men in a RIB, she was found beyond repair. Her permanent replacement, the Severn-class 17-30 William Gordon Burr, funded by the legacy of Mrs Nora Burr, was placed on service on 8 May 2008 and remains the station’s all-weather lifeboat.
The D-class inshore lifeboat The Ken Blair (D-871) completes the fleet, on station since 2022. Across more than 160 years the station’s lifeboats have saved many hundreds of lives along one of the most exposed coasts in the British Isles, and Portrush remains a key all-weather station covering the busy waters between the Causeway Coast and Rathlin Island.
