Risking their lives for others
AN atomic bomb devastating Ireland is unlikely now, but in 1950 it prompted the establishment of the Irish Civil Defence as the Cold War reached a climax sparking global fears.
Designed as a national defence auxiliary resource to front-line emergency services, the civil defence remains true to its original ethos, providing skilled responders to disaster in the local population.
On Bere Island, for the first skills and training camp of the Cork West civil defence division of 2012, a farmer chats to a Leaving Certificate student, a property developer trains with the heights rescue team and boat crews teach inshore and river rescue.
The military barracks on Bere Island, one of the ‘Treaty Ports’ handed back to the Irish by the British in 1938, is a fitting location for the camp, where 60 members have assembled, half of them new recruits.
Newcomers join for different reasons, but with less work and more free time, volunteers are seeking outlets of activity. Skills require constant refresher courses, rescue missions require strong nerves, and the operation is based on the generosity of volunteers.
Twenty-four new members joined the Cork West division in recent weeks, a trend reflected nationwide. Director general of the civil defence board, Bill Smith, said the organisation wants as many new recruits as possible. “Our numbers have appreciably gone up since the end of the boom, though they did not fall during the good times either, which was surprising enough, given that people had lots of opportunities to do other things. People join for various reasons, but most want to do something for the community, to give something back,” he said.
Michael Kirby, (47), from Ballinascarthy, said those same words to illustrate his interest. He was winched to safety in a dramatic rescue off the Baltimore coast after being located unconscious in the water.
“I was out sailing and all I know is the boom struck the back of my head and I ended up in the water. The rescue services saved my life. There are great things to learn here that will be of practical use in everyday life. As one of the instructors in first aid said, ‘it’s probably a member of your family that’s going to be using this at some stage, it’s good to know’,” he said.
Aspiring fire fighter Ryan O’Mahony (21), from Baltimore, assisted with the local RNLI rescue mission that saved Michael’s life.
Ryan was among the first civil defence crews to arrive at Union Hall on Sunday, Jan 15, when stormy seas claimed the Tit Bonhomme fishing trawler and five of its crewmen. The search continued for 27 days and drew a daily average of 36 civil defence volunteers.
“We (the specialist inshore rib crew) spent 24 of the 27 days searching at Union Hall. There are no words to explain the feeling when the last person was recovered.
“That was complete closure for everyone and the families were unbelievably grateful, which was amazing,” he said.
Ryan rattles off six years of experience to those assembled on the pier who are interested in learning about inshore rescue. He details systems and steerage nuances to new recruits.
Among them is 17-year-old Danielle Hayes, a sixth-year student from Ardfield.
Her aspirations for her career range from the Defence Forces or navy to nautical science or the gardaí. Civil defence training can direct her interest.
“Today just shows how much effort they put into it, learning the different skills. There are things I can learn here that will be helpful to what I’m interested in as a career,” she said.
The water-rescue crew, who were involved in the recovery of one of the bodies of the Bandon river murders last November, took ownership of a €5,000 Zodia Grand Raid, a 4.1m river-rescue vessel purchased in Spain, in time for the Bere Island camp.
Many among the civil defence ranks are all too familiar with dramatic rescues and macabre murders. The heights rescue team instructed by Denis O’Sullivan is getting to grips with a metal hoist, the Larkin rescue frame used to recover the body of murder victim Gary Bull from a slurry pit in Shanlaragh, Dunmanway in 2007.
“The body had been in the slurry pit for a number of weeks and the pathologist, Dr Bolster, didn’t want the body disturbed. We set this equipment up inside the shed and lowered the stretcher down, and when it came up the body had been disturbed as little as possible,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
Heights rescue is specialised, a mechanical mind is a plus, but as with each of the four introductory skills sections, which included communications and foot patrols, recruits can get a taste for each activity and choose to focus on what suits their interest.
The weekend skills camp was blessed with beautiful weather, the sun lit up the dramatic rock formations of Hungry Hill, marking the entrance to the Beara Peninsula across the bay. A social-networking aspect became evident as the day’s activities continued.
“There’s a big variation of people here today, many I have never met before. You meet all sorts of people from every background and that circle gets wider as you branch out into the other divisions,” Castletownbere-based farmer Linda Sullivan said.
“There is a feel-good factor because you do your best to help people, but not get too emotionally involved. I’m almost ten years with the civil defence and I’ve been on quite a few search-and-recovery missions. You can see the pain in peoples faces,” she said.
Navy divers and Air Corps personnel formed part of a series of simulated training exercises, designed to allow trainee members to see how they can improve their own reactions ahead of a real-life scenario. A specialist first-response team was prepped on how to treat an injured casualty in a remote location in anticipation of the arrival of the Air Corps.
Around the corner, the foot-patrol team are put through their marching motions by Skibbereen-based Defence Forces reserve William McSweeney.
Ex-army officer Niall Twomey, who took over the role of officer for the Cork West division last summer, sums up the value of the exercise.
“The focus here is on team work, discipline and prompt reaction to orders,” he said.
Twomey completed missions in Lebanon, Congo and East Timor with the Irish army and his background grants him a natural ease of leadership and a recognition of the value of consistent training.
He refers repeatedly to the ‘incredible’ spirit of generosity and commitment of volunteers, without whom this operation would not exist.
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