SEMRA will hold two flag days in Clonmel on the last weekend of this month, the 31st of October and the 1st of November. Many team members come from the Clonmel/South Tipperary area and SEMRA is hoping to raise much needed funds for the upkeep of the two vehicles and rescue equipment located in Clonmel. Chairman of the team, Michael Power said "the vehicles in Clonmel play a vital, life-saving role in the team's operations. For the last number of years, we have had two vehicles, a 4x4 and a control vehicle, stationed in the Civil Defence yard which allows the team a very quick response time to any incident in the Clonmel area and beyond". He thanked Civil Defence for providing the parking spaces. He went on to say "as we don't have a permanent base, I would also like to thank the Chief Fire Officer in Clonmel for allowing the team to use the Fire Training Centre for meetings and training courses. On behalf of the SEMRA team, and especially the members from the Clonmel area, I would like to thank the Clonmel people, many of them hill walkers with the local Peaks Mountaineering Club, for their ongoing support". As a voluntary organisation, SEMRA relies on donations from the public and hill walking clubs. An annual grant from the Government covers around a quarter of SEMRA's yearly running costs.


Members of SEMRA joined over 120 scouts and staff on the Galtee Mountains in County Tipperary for an adventure weekend. Scouts came from all over Ireland for a weekend of camping and walking on the mountains. Jimmy Barry and Matt Ryan, along with two scout leaders, manned the first check point on Farbrega (724m), during the Saturday walk along the ridge above Lough Muskry. As each patrol checked in they were given information on Mountain Rescue in Ireland, and what happens when a mountain rescue team is called out. A short question and answer session followed. The SEMRA team was invited to take part by the organisers of the weekend, so that the scouts could find out more about mountain rescue and safety while out walking. Jimmy Barry, PRO for SEMRA, said " we are always willing to meet people (of any age), on and off the mountains, to let them know who we are and what it is we do. Last weekend was an excellent event for Scouting Ireland, and the organisers are to be congratulated for bringing so many young people to the mountains and giving them some fantastic memories to take home. For SEMRA it was a chance to meet the hill walkers and mountaineers of tomorrow, pass on the safety message and bring an awareness about all the other mountain rescue teams in Ireland. Our time is the most valuable gift we can give, and to give our time to young people and help them in their development is something the SEMRA team will always support". Sunday turned out to be a bit windy, but by 12.30pm everyone was off the mountain and heading for home, some as far away as Northern Ireland. Find out more about the weekend at http://www.sionnach.org/ .


Dave Courtney, former Chief Pilot of Shannon Search & Rescue Helicopter, and a good friend to the team back a few years, has writen a great book called "Nine Lives", covering his career in Search & Rescue, all the adventures he had and the people he met along the way, including SEMRA. It is an excellent read, which received a rave review from Kevin Myers.
Available in all good bookshops, "Nine Lives" is published by Mercier Press.


 

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