The family of the late founder of a charity which has saved hundreds of lives in the north say they are “deeply honoured” after a decision by Stormont’s environment minister to name a £1m marine survey vessel after him.
West Belfast native and marine biologist Joe Breen was the co-founder of the Community Rescue Service (CRS), which he set up alongside friend and colleague Sean McCarry in 2007.
He died last June at the age of 63, following a short illness, but his legacy lives on with with the CRS, which is staffed by volunteers and assists in searches for missing and vulnerable people, and those who get into difficulties inland or on waterways or the coast.
The year before his death, Joe - who lived with his family in Ballycastle - was awarded an OBE for services to marine science and environmental protection.
He had spent more than 30 years working in the civil service, mainly in marine conservation and environmental protection, and had been a member of the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Marine and Fisheries team.
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His drive to create the CRS was borne of his time working with both the RNLI and the Coastguard in Ballycastle.
This week, his loved ones including wife Huggy, son Joe Jr and daughter Sarah gathered at Belfast Marina in the city’s Abercorn Basin for the renaming of a research vessel owned by DAERA in his honour.
Acquired in 2022, the catamaran is now officially named Joe Breen, with the name emblazoned on the hull.
It is equipped with “cutting-edge technologies to monitor the inshore area of the Northern Irish marine environment”.
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir the renaming was “most fitting” as Joe had been a pioneer in marine surveying, and helped work on the north’s first Marine Conservation Zones.
“He had that special gift of bringing complex science to life with other scientists and the public alike through pictures, radio and television,” the minister said.
“Joe was an exceptional officer and leaves a strong legacy of innovation in the many scientists that he worked with in the Department. It is so appropriate that this beautiful survey catamaran is also now part of that legacy.”
Joe’s wife Huggy said her husband had a “deep love and passion for the sea and was an unwavering champion for nature”.
She added: “We are deeply honoured that Joe’s legacy will live on through this survey vessel. His guiding principle was never to seek financial gain, but to be remembered for his good initiatives and unwavering commitment to helping others.”
