Lisa Levins Burgess, Navigator, RNLI Lifeboat Service

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity in the UK and Ireland which saves lives at sea. Founded in 1824, it has saved some 140,000 people, at a cost of more than 600 lives lost in service. In the early days of the RNLI, lifeboat launch and recovery was often undertaken by women, but it was considered bad luck for women to actually crew the boats. It was 1969 before the first female inshore crew member was appointed. Still today, over 90% of RNLI crew are male.

Growing up in Clogherhead, one of Lisa’s earliest memories is of the local lifeboat. Every time it went out on a rescue, the lifeboat service set off maroons (a type of noisy flare) which could be heard all over the village. Her parents would drive down to the beach to watch the boat going out. Lisa always admired the crew and wanted to join for a long time, despite it being a very male-dominated job. In August 1995, one of the proudest days of her life came when she officially joined the crew. Twenty-one years later she’s one of the navigators, the trainee coxswain, and also the training co-ordinator for the station. Faced with saving lives on a daily basis, Lisa experienced her own tragic loss when her husband Steve passed away in December 2015. Because of his illness, they had planned to try IVF, and it succeeded first time. Lisa is grateful to have been able to raise Steve’s son Ethan.

Photo: Beta Bajgart