Survivors return to Arranmore to donate £10,000 to RNLI

Survivors and relatives of the 1989 boating tragedy off Arranmore presented a £10,000 donation to the local RNLI on Saturday.

The donation honoured four Edinburgh University students who died on 28 July 1989 after their dinghy was thrown onto rocks in worsening weather. Survivors John Whitting and Natasha Martineau were rescued by the Arranmore lifeboat crew and taken to the home of islander Mary Conlon.

Following the rescue, a large search operation involving 56 divers from An Garda Síochána and voluntary diving clubs continued for more than a week, with the final body recovered on 5 August 1989. The four who lost their lives were Isobel Pryor‑Lloyd, 21; Matthew Halifax, 21; Justin Arbuthnott, 21; and Alexander Ricketts, 20.

Donation ceremony and ongoing RNLI work

On 3 October 2026, a wreath was laid at sea and John Whitting, now living in London, handed the £10,000 – raised through a triathlon for Pulmonary Fibrosis and the Arranmore RNLI – to the lifeboat station. The RNLI presented the donors with a framed copper map of Arranmore.

Arranmore RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Jerry Early thanked John for his generosity, while Press Officer Nora Flanagan described the visit as “incredibly emotional”. The volunteer crew returned to duty the following day, responding to three separate calls, including a medical evacuation and assistance to a fishing vessel off Tory Island.

Source: Donegal Daily. Photo: SlimMars 13 / Pexels.