The lifeboat is very central to the life of Courtmacsherry and is very much part of the proud history and tradition of this beautiful seaside village. The station's current lifeboat is the "Frederick Storey Cockburn" - a "Trent" class lifeboat. This class of lifeboat was designed to lie afloat at a deep-water mooring or at a berth. At Courtmacsherry the lifeboat lies approximately 100 yards offshore from the lifeboat station and is accessed by a small boarding boat.
Courtmacsherry Lifeboat Station (formerly based at nearby Barry's Point) and its volunteer crews have performed many rescues. The most famous was in May 1915 when the lifeboat of the day (the Ketzia Gwilt) rescued survivors of the sinking HMS Luisitania. Several famous lifeboatmen were involved on that fateful day. They were Tim Keohane (father of Antarctic explorer Patsy Keohane), John Murphy, and his son Jerry.
Courtmacsherry lifeboat station and it's boats were paid for, in the main, from voluntary contributions by individuals and groups. Though the crews are fully trained by the RNLI to a very high standard, they are volunteers and do not charge for their time. The RNLI does not receive any funding from the governments in the UK or Ireland and relies solely on donations and legacies.