'Nobody wants to leave their family — but emergencies don’t stop because it’s Christmas'

From paramedics to Christmas FM DJs and helpline staff there will be plenty people busy at work when so many of us are relaxing and having fun — we meet three people who'll be on duty on the big day

Daragh O'Sullivan at Christmas FM studios in Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney

Just as Santa and his reindeer are coming to the end of their shift and exhausted parents are woken at the crack of dawn by gleeful children, Jack Connolly and his colleagues will be in their ambulances and setting out on their first emergency call of the day.

The 29-year-old has been a paramedic for almost three years and this Christmas, while the rest of us rip open presents, meet our loved ones and generally overindulge, he will be one of the thousands of workers who keep Ireland ticking over on Christmas Day.