Arranmore RNLI welcome a familiar face and his Canadian partner to their team

New crew members Pat Boyle and partner Julie Savoie will join the Arranmore RNLI as fully qualified members this month.

Pat is no stranger to Arranmore as he lived on the island with his parents upon returning from Scotland. Pat's father Patrick still lives on the island and he and Julie decided to make Arranmore their home following years of working and living in Canada - where Julie was born - America, Australia, Hong Kong and various other countries.

“We were getting tired of the rat race and while spending a week on Arranmore post-Covid,” Pat said. “We decided to make the transition to a more peaceful lifestyle and sense of community on the island. We moved in September 2023 and having settled in we signed up to join the lifeboat crew in 2024 as people were so kind to us and we wanted to be part of the community, especially this lifesaving service that has been saving lives around the coastline for 200 years."

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Julie added: “The training is excellent and all crew members are trained in all aspects of saving lives at sea. It is a privilege to be part of the RNLI and meet likeminded people whose one aim is to save lives. We spent some time at the National Maritime College of Ireland in Cork doing sea survival training along with crews from all over Ireland which was a fantastic experience.”

Both Pat and Julie said they are looking forward to their new lives on Arranmore and are currently looking for a site to build their permanent home.