Clubs, societies, and community groups throughout West Cork are being urged to throw their support behind a massive fundraising drive to pay for €72,000 worth of life-saving medical kits for the voluntary West Cork Rapid Response service.

A new “network” of volunteer personnel from across the emergency services has been established to support the work of the hugely successful West Cork Rapid Response service.

A network of specially trained volunteers, who can be called on to attend cardiac victims before an ambulance arrives, is being rolled out across the country.

They organised pub quizzes, race nights, raffles and walks to buy and equip it. And after a marathon community effort, they’ve been able to present a state-of-the-art emergency response jeep to a trauma doctor who could one day save their life.

With the ambulance service stretched, a group of award-winning volunteers are proving vital, writes Áilín Quinlan.