Menu
17/02/2009
Wicklow Rescuers Win Accolade
The team credited with a dramatic mountain rescue operation last week in Co Wicklow is being honoured.
Northern Ireland Sports Minister Gregory Campbell will tonight host an event to acknowledge the contribution of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team to the Northern Ireland community.
Speaking ahead of the reception at Parliament Buildings, Minister Campbell said: "The team is being presented with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services which was awarded in 2008 for all of the work that they undertake in the community.
"It is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon groups of this kind and is equivalent in status to the MBE.
"I must commend the members of Mourne Mountain Rescue Team past and present for providing over 47 years of voluntary service to those that use the Mourne Mountains.
"Their dedication to providing a professional service and commitment to training and assisting others in need is exemplary."
The Minister continued: "I was pleased that Sport Northern Ireland has provided the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team with funding of £70,000 for the purchase of their new transit van and radios which have already been put to good use.
"While many would argue that the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team are not a sporting team, their very existence and indeed the existence of other similar rescue and support teams, allows so many people from all over Northern Ireland and further afield, the opportunities to use the mountains for leisure and recreational purposes," he concluded.
'Further afield' last week meant the Mourne team joined forces with their colleagues on the NI-based North West Mountain Rescue team as back-up for the Irish Republic's volunteers who had launched searches on Monday for two snowboarders trapped on one of Ireland's highest mountains.
They were just hours from freezing to death when the Ulster rescuers located them and they were winched to safety by helicopter.
The men were stranded in sub-zero temperatures on Lugnaquilla in the Wicklow Mountains for almost a day, after their map blew away and thick fog crept in.
The call around 4pm on Monday sparked a major manhunt involving 60 volunteers from both sides of the border as well as teams and helicopters from the RAF, Irish army and Coastguard.
See: Lost Snowboarders Found In Cross-Border Rescue
(BMcC/JM)
Northern Ireland Sports Minister Gregory Campbell will tonight host an event to acknowledge the contribution of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team to the Northern Ireland community.
Speaking ahead of the reception at Parliament Buildings, Minister Campbell said: "The team is being presented with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services which was awarded in 2008 for all of the work that they undertake in the community.
"It is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon groups of this kind and is equivalent in status to the MBE.
"I must commend the members of Mourne Mountain Rescue Team past and present for providing over 47 years of voluntary service to those that use the Mourne Mountains.
"Their dedication to providing a professional service and commitment to training and assisting others in need is exemplary."
The Minister continued: "I was pleased that Sport Northern Ireland has provided the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team with funding of £70,000 for the purchase of their new transit van and radios which have already been put to good use.
"While many would argue that the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team are not a sporting team, their very existence and indeed the existence of other similar rescue and support teams, allows so many people from all over Northern Ireland and further afield, the opportunities to use the mountains for leisure and recreational purposes," he concluded.
'Further afield' last week meant the Mourne team joined forces with their colleagues on the NI-based North West Mountain Rescue team as back-up for the Irish Republic's volunteers who had launched searches on Monday for two snowboarders trapped on one of Ireland's highest mountains.
They were just hours from freezing to death when the Ulster rescuers located them and they were winched to safety by helicopter.
The men were stranded in sub-zero temperatures on Lugnaquilla in the Wicklow Mountains for almost a day, after their map blew away and thick fog crept in.
The call around 4pm on Monday sparked a major manhunt involving 60 volunteers from both sides of the border as well as teams and helicopters from the RAF, Irish army and Coastguard.
See: Lost Snowboarders Found In Cross-Border Rescue
(BMcC/JM)
Related Irish News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.
19 November 2024
How Ireland Became the European Hub for US Tech Firms
Over the last thirty years, Ireland has slowly and steadily become a global centre for business. In the modern era, it is a technology hub where the biggest companies in the world have chosen to make a home. Dublin is the centre of this, but other major cities like Cork are also alive with innovation.
How Ireland Became the European Hub for US Tech Firms
Over the last thirty years, Ireland has slowly and steadily become a global centre for business. In the modern era, it is a technology hub where the biggest companies in the world have chosen to make a home. Dublin is the centre of this, but other major cities like Cork are also alive with innovation.
15 November 2024
Betting On Gaelic Games: Is Sports Betting Shaping The Future Of GAA In Ireland?
In recent years, the landscape of Gaelic games in Ireland has seen an intriguing evolution. Among the many changes is the increasing prominence of sports betting, which has found its way into the heart of these traditional Irish sports.
Betting On Gaelic Games: Is Sports Betting Shaping The Future Of GAA In Ireland?
In recent years, the landscape of Gaelic games in Ireland has seen an intriguing evolution. Among the many changes is the increasing prominence of sports betting, which has found its way into the heart of these traditional Irish sports.
27 June 2014
One-Off Grant Announced For Mountain Rescue Services
A special one-off grant of €200,000 is to be made available for Mountain Rescue Ireland, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar and Minister of State for Tourism & Sport, Michael Ring have announced. The ministers said that the funding would be used to purchase new vehicles and equipment.
One-Off Grant Announced For Mountain Rescue Services
A special one-off grant of €200,000 is to be made available for Mountain Rescue Ireland, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar and Minister of State for Tourism & Sport, Michael Ring have announced. The ministers said that the funding would be used to purchase new vehicles and equipment.
17 December 2009
Dog Survives Five Days Off Cliff
An aging dog named Sam has been saved in a dramatic rescue, after being stranded on a cliff edge for five days. The operation to save the stricken spaniel lasted some four hours, with a member of the Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue team abseiling eight metres down a rock face to where the dog was lodged in shrubbery on a narrow ledge.
Dog Survives Five Days Off Cliff
An aging dog named Sam has been saved in a dramatic rescue, after being stranded on a cliff edge for five days. The operation to save the stricken spaniel lasted some four hours, with a member of the Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue team abseiling eight metres down a rock face to where the dog was lodged in shrubbery on a narrow ledge.
29 September 2009
Rescue Team Recover Body Of Lost Hiker
A mountain rescue team has recovered the body of the hiker who had gone missing on a Connemara mountain. The 59-year-old hiker's body could not be recovered for almost 24 hours because of the inaccessibility of the location where he had fallen at the weekend.
Rescue Team Recover Body Of Lost Hiker
A mountain rescue team has recovered the body of the hiker who had gone missing on a Connemara mountain. The 59-year-old hiker's body could not be recovered for almost 24 hours because of the inaccessibility of the location where he had fallen at the weekend.
-
Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:Frequent, often heavy showers of rain, sleet and snow will affect most parts this evening and overnight, but are likely to be most frequent across the northeast. Minimum temperature -1 °C.
