Old ambulance serves in a new role in Dublin

THE ambulance that served the people of West Kerry in the first decade of this century is now operating in a nnew role in Dublin where it is involved in rescuing mountain walkersw from coffee cravings and the effects of the drought.

Now re-branded as the The Shaggy Dog mobile coffee shop ( pictured above), the old ambulance is a regular stop for Rathfarnham-based Dingle man Conn Cremin when he takes his own shaggy dog for a Sunday walk in the Dublin mountains. Conn recently noticed that the mobile coffee shop at Cruach Wood had a Kerry number plate and, mentioning this to the man behind the counter, he learned that the van was previously an ambulance based in Dingle.

Coincidentally, Conn’s sister, Annette, was the matron of Dingle Hospital when the 02-registered ambulance last operated on the roads of West Kerry. Another coincidence is that the ambulance’s new owner, Harry, is a musician who gigged at Other Voices three years ago.

Ambulance driver Pat Hanafin remembers the three-litre Ford Transit as a very well built and well maintained vehicle that could cross the top of the Conor Pass at 50mph, despite weighing close to six tonnes. Pat said the ambulance was ‘spotless’ when it was sold off with over 200,000 miles on the clock after six years’ service and he reckoned Harry the musician was lucky to get her.

He added that second hand ambulances are much sought after for conversion to camper vans and Dingle-based ambulances in particular are highly prized because they have a reputation for being kept in ‘as new’ condition. Pat’s father, John, who also worked in the ambulance service and his colleague Mike Houlihan had a hand in this because they established the routine of regular maintenance that keeps Dingle ambulances in pristine condition from the day they arrive to the day they leave town.