An incredible honour to be one of the representatives from Lough Derg RNLI at the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey to mark the RNLIs 200th birthday. Especially too as I read my poem ‘Float to Live’ as part of the service.
It was an extraordinarily moving event - awe inspiring to see so many fellow volunteers gathered under one hugely impressive vaulted roof.
Rehearsals the evening before the service ensured everything went with clockwork precision the following morning.
Huge thanks to Eleanor Driscoll who looked after Peter and I so well at Westminster, and Niamh Stephenson and Judy Nelson for asking me to write the poem and creating this opportunity for me.
You can watch the service here
The Times and The Sunday Times An hour or so following the Service of Thanksgiving, Barbara Rose at RTÉ invited me to speak live on the Ray D’Arcy show (thanks to RNLI Nuala McAloon for connecting us) - after a mad dash across London, finding the correct building at BBC Broadcasting House and going through security checks, I arrived, slightly disheveled, in the recording booth with less than two minutes to go - it was an absolute delight to chat to Ray live on air.
You can listen here