This weekend marked the final day on the lifeboat for Olivia Byrne who has been volunteer crew with the Galway Lifeboat Station for the past 23 years.
Olivia who is a nurse, midwife and public health nurse has been on 167 shouts and has been involved in many rescues including passengers on cruise ships and has dealt with injuries from fractured hips to cardiac arrests, while also dealing with people who have lost their life through drowning.
In addition, Olivia’s nursing background has allowed her use these skills to the benefit of all the crew by leading out on casualty care exercises at the station.
Olivia also initiated the ongoing engagement with the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Galway which has enabled the crew to visit the Clinical Simulation and Interprofessional Education Facility to put their casualty care training into practice in real time.
Speaking about her time at sea with the lifeboat Olivia said, “Thinking back over the hundreds of hours I’ve spent at sea on rescues, it is the people that I remember.”
“All those people who we saved and the families whose loved ones we brought home. It has been a privilege for me to be part of Galway RNLI and to serve on the boat with the crews over the past 23 years.”
“I would especially like to thank Paul Carey, Mike Swan and Pat Lavelle, the Lifeboat Operations Managers who were all pivotal in my lifeboat journey.”
