Risking their lives for others

Formed in the height of the Cold War, crime scenes and sea rescues are all in a day’s work for the Irish Civil Defence, says Louise Roseingrave

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.