Working for Christmas: Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue don't mind being on call at Christmas

As a dedicated member of Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue, Tallaght man John Kavanagh knows he could easily get called out to deal with an emergency this Christmas.

“I don’t think anybody really minds being on call on Christmas Day. We all do it because we like to do it.

“We’re all volunteers, we all have day jobs, so if it was a particular problem for someone they would just say they were unavailable Christmas Day. Personally I don’t mind at all.”

Last year there was a callout on Christmas Day — a man who was walking on Lugnaquilla, the highest mountain in Wicklow, lost his way and had to be rescued.

“He essentially got lost. He wasn’t sure of the safe way off the mountain. Lugnaquilla is particularly problematic because there are cliffs on either side.

“So he made an emergency call, a 112 call, and asked for mountain rescue. Our callout officer then identified what the problem was and called out the team to go up and escort him off.

“He was fine, there were no injuries or anything at all, he just wasn’t sure where he was going.

“The callout happened at around half three in the afternoon and was stood down then just after five. It was probably only three hours out of most people’s day.”

John, who is also an IT consultant, said he has always enjoyed the outdoors and was involved with the scouts. He then developed a love of caving and became a cave rescuer, which led him to become a volunteer mountain rescuer.

“Mountain rescue in Ireland began in the 1960s with the ethos of ‘mountaineers helping other mountaineers who get into difficulty’.

“The types of people using our mountains have changed a bit since then, but the ethos remains the same. If I want someone to help me if I get into difficulty, I feel I have a responsibility to help others too.”

As such, those who volunteer for the rescue service have very different backgrounds. In fact, the only common denominator seems to be that love of the outdoors John talks about so passionately.

“There are some people who would kind of expect their career would fit. There are a couple of paramedics and a few doctors on the team, but we also have electricians, carpenters, tillers, we have a barrister, there’s an actuary, it’s very varied,” he said.

“Most of the team would be on call on Christmas Day unless they are outside of our operational area. My partner understands. She might be a little bit annoyed if I was called out during Christmas dinner though! But no, she knows why I volunteer in mountain rescue and she understands. For some of the team who have children, it might be a bigger sacrifice.”

Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue has an upcoming fundraiser members of the public might like to take part in.

Walk the Line, a dusk-to-dark fundraising walk through the Dublin Mountains, takes place on March 12. Information and registration is available via walktheline.ie.