Phil Coulter recalls role of brother’s death in getting lifeboat on Lough Swilly

Singer and composer Phil Coulter has recalled how the death of his brother in a windsurfing accident on Lough Swilly was a factor in the establishment of the local RNLI station.

His brother Brian drowned in 1984 and he believes that if there had been a lifeboat on the lough,  Brian would be alive today. 

Coulter talks about his brother’s death in the RNLI 200 Voices podcast series and how it led to him writing and recording Home From the Sea, now an RNLI anthem.

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After his brother’s death, the Derry singer joined the campaign for a local lifeboat service and three years later in 1987, the first inshore lifeboat was stationed on Lough Swilly. 

A few years later Phil wanted to create a greater awareness of the RNLI and he composed Home from the Sea. The podcast  tells how he recorded it with the late Liam Clancy as lead vocalist with a chorus of RNLI volunteer crew from around the island.  

The unique podcast series will hear from people connected to the RNLI in Ireland and those whose lives have been touched by the lifesaving charity. Hear from locals with a special kinship to their lifeboat station, a crew member who’s been on service for a generation, or the family of someone rescued by an RNLI frontline lifesaver. Each episode is sure to take the listener on a journey through a touching story.

Launched in August the series already features several contributions of Irish interest including Niamh Fitzpatrick’s personal reflection on losing her sister Dara at sea.

Fr Tom Dalton, a Courtown RNLI crew member describes what is like when rescue turns into recovery in Pulling Together; and in The Calm Before Force 10,  Baltimore RNLI’s Kieran Cotter remembers an event that was to change yacht racing forever, the 1979 Fastnet tragedy, the fateful call out and the response to the disaster.

The challenge of saving lives in a remote place is the theme of Outer Limits by Aran Islands doctor Marion Broderick.

Available across all podcast platforms and the RNLI’s website, listeners can hear from survivors, supporters, volunteers, lifeguards, celebrity ambassadors, historians and many more from across Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland and beyond.

 The RNLI’s 200 Voices is available wherever you get your podcasts or at RNLI.org/200Voices.