Eighty call-outs last year for Glen team
SEVENTY PER CENT of callouts for the Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team last year were for rescues, data collated by the Irish Red Cross has revealed.
The remaining 30 per cent of call-outs were for searches, with eight per cent of these for persons missing from a group and the remaining 22 per cent for lost persons.
The team responded to three incidents of fatalities in 2017, one of which was as a result of an accident.
Brendan Beirne, chairperson of the Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team, said that things can go wrong even for the best prepared and, with a large city right next door to the Garden County, the team is always ready to spring into action.
‘Accidents happen everywhere and to even the most prepared and experienced people, but when you are in a remote environment, getting the help you need is not so easy and that’s why we’re here,’ he said. ‘We work in close proximity to the largest population centre in the country and that’s why we’re so busy’.
Three quarters of last year’s call-outs related to hikers, while nine per cent of incidents resulted from biking. August was the busiest month of the year for the team and the highest number of call-outs was to Glendalough, followed by Lugnaquilla and the Sugar Loaf.
Injuries to the lower leg accounted for half of all injuries attended to by the team. The largest percentage of incidents took place on Saturdays (33 per cent) and Sundays (31 per cent).
2013 had the highest number of incidents in recent years at 110. This was partially due to snow conditions on mountain roads when there was no snow in Dublin. This drew people to the mountains to see the snow and then they got stuck, and the Glen Team was called to evacuate people due to the risk of hypothermia.
Mountain Rescue Ireland’s annual report was published earlier this year and revealed that the Glen of Imaal team and the Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team were again the busiest in the country last year, with 80 and 82 callouts respectively.
Both teams have already responded to over 60 incidents each this year. I am parenting alone and getting a One-Parent Family Payment. I would like to go back to college. What are my options?
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