Mornington Lifeboat Station

Mornington Lifeboat Station is a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station in the village of Mornington, on the south side of the River Boyne estuary, near Drogheda in County Meath, Ireland.

A lifeboat was first stationed here, Drogheda (No.2), by the RNLI in 1872.

Mornington Lifeboat Station was closed in 1926.

History
On passage from Newport, Monmouthshire to Dublin, the brig Manly was driven onto the sands at Bettystown in a severe gale on 27 September 1871. Six of the crew of the Manly were lost. One person survived.

Following the loss of the Manly, it was decided to open a No.2 station at Drogheda in 1872, located on the south side of the River Boyne at Mornington, County Meath. A boathouse was constructed near to the Maiden's Tower at Mornington. A 32-foot 10-oared Self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing (P&S) lifeboat was provided along with a launch carriage, both items being transported from London to Dublin free of charge by the British and Irish Steam Packet Company, arriving in July 1872. The lifeboat was funded from the bequest of English literary, art and music critic, and author Henry Fothergill Chorley, and named after his late brother John Rutter Chorley.

Although the Baltray and Mornington stations were in close proximity across the river, each boat could be pulled on its carriage North or South respectively prior to launching, greatly reducing response times to vessels in distress along the coast. To prove the point, the Assistant Inspector of Lifeboats had the lifeboat quickly conveyed 3 miles south to Bettystown, the location of the Manly wreck.

On 2 February 1873, the John Rutter Chorley was launched to the schooner Wilson of Whitehaven. On passage to Cardiff, the vessel was driven ashore on the North Bull. With the vessel breaking up, 5 crew were rescued.

In some cases, many years could go by without a call for the lifeboat. 1877 would prove to be somewhat different, the Mornington lifeboat launching six times, and rescuing 24 people. On 11 January, 11 were rescued from the barque Sisters, on passage to Drogheda from Baltimore, Maryland, driven ashore at Laytown, County Meath. The steamship Urania ran aground on the North Bull just one week later on 18 January 1877. The lifeboat managed to rescue 10 of the 11 crew.

Four more lifeboats would serve at Mornington, including the Charles Whitton (ON 334) from 1901 to 1902, transferred from the recently closed station across the River Boyne at Baltray, but with less sailing craft at the mercy of the weather, the Mornington lifeboat was only called 12 times between 1885 and 1926. Mornington Lifeboat Station was closed in 1926.

The boathouse next to the Maiden Tower still stands, and has recently been restored to be a private dwelling. The last lifeboat at Mornington, John Dunn (ON 638), was transferred to the flanking station at Clogherhead.

Mornington lifeboats

 * Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.