At around 3.30pm on Sunday, November 1st, 2009, the mountain rescue team was alerted to an incident in the Comeragh Mountains. A lady hillwalker had fallen and injured her lower leg during an organised walk around Lough Coumshingaun. Two members of the mountain rescue team happened to be near where the accident occurred and went to her aid, and were able to direct more mountain rescue volunteers to the exact location. It was decided to call on the Coast Guard helicopter from Waterford to evacuate the woman.
The Marine Rescue Coordinating Center in Dublin tasked the Sikorsky S61 helicopter, which was flying over the accident site within ten minutes. The hillwalker was airlifted and taken to Waterford Regional Hospital. Mountain rescue personnel escorted the remainder of the walking group off the mountains to their cars.
This is the second incident in the south east in six days to which the team have responded. Earlier in the week, the team rescued twelve people in the Galtee mountains in Tipperary after they had gotten lost in atrocious weather conditions.
In a major search and rescue operation on the Galtee mountains in Tipperary, twelve people were located and taken to safety by mountain rescue volunteers who came to their aid from all over the south east of Ireland. On October 27th 2009, the mountain rescue team was alerted by Gardai in Cahir when the group rang the emergency 999/112 number and requested assistance. The twelve, comprising of adults and teenagers, had climbed Galtymore earlier in the day, but had gotten lost in dense fog and mist on their descent.
At 1600hrs, the mountain rescue team issued a full team call out to all its members and set up an incident command post at the top of the Black Road, that leads into the mountains from the Cahir Mitchelstown road. By 16.30, the first search teams were on their way up the mountains to search for the group in what were described as terrible weather conditions. An incident commander was in mobile phone contact with the group, who were able to describe their position on the mountains. At 18hrs, up to thirty mountain rescue members were searching from Galtymore to Greenane, an area of 10 square km, concentrating on the southern slopes of the mountains. Because of very poor weather conditions, rain, fog, and very strong wind, the group were only located at 21.30 that night. They were rewarmed in team shelters and assessed by team medics, given hot drinks and extra clothing. When more mountain rescue members reached the area, the party was escorted to team off-road vehicles and driven back to their cars. All the group were very cold, but none needed hospital treatment. All the mountain rescue search parties were off the mountains by 23.30hrs.
SEMRA would like to thank all who assisted in this search and rescue, the Gardai in Cahir, and the Coast Guard Helicopter crew in Waterford, who had been but on standby, its own volunteer members, who worked in atrocious weather condition to achieve this successful outcome.
Just after 15:00 on Sunday, August 23rd, the South Eastern Mountain Rescue Team were contacted by Gardai in Tipperary about an incident in the Galtee mountains. A walking group of five (an adult and four children) had gone walking to Lough Muskry, and on their way back down, two of the children found they were unable to cross a river that had risen by a few feet in a matter of minutes because of a localised cloud burst. The mountain rescue team were training on the far side of the Galtees and within 5 minutes of receiving the call, had sent two 4x4 vehicles and its new command and control vehicle, along with thirteen team members and a Search and Rescue Dog team to the incident. The team also contacted Irish Coast Guard to put a helicopter on standby if it was needed.
At around 16:15 the team located the walking group, one member of the team made his way across the swollen river and was able to secure ropes to the far bank. The children were then put into harnesses and, with safety ropes attached, were winched one at a time across the river to safety. The children were rewarmed, given food and then taken back to their car. Members of the rescue team said they had never seen this river in spate with that amount of water, lower down the river boulders were being moved by the force of the water.
The South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association (SEMRA) would like to thank everyone for their help in the rescue today, the Gardai, Search and Rescue Dog Association (SARDA), Irish Coast Guard, and its own members. We would also like to say well done to the adult and the children for doing all the correct things in the situation in which they found themselves.
Name: Bono
Lives: Co.Kilkenny
Occupation: Qualified SARDA air scenting search dog.
Interests: Finding the ball, sandwiches, going for a dip.
In the team since: 2004 - and I don't think I was the first pup to join SEMRA either.
Current position in the team: On a search, I do the work of fifty humans. I also try to be a good influence on Mick Grant.
Lowlights: Always getting the blame when somebody piddles on a rucksack. Being told to shut up at team debriefs.
Highlights: Getting out of the van for a stretch after a long journey. Giving the dogsbodies a good workout on training days. Keeping Irene Codd awake on Croagh Patrick.
Name: Mary J Mullins
Lives: Horse and Jockey, in Tipperary, “The Home of Hurling”
Occupation: Community Worker
Interests: When not on the mountains, long walks with my Red Setter through the fields at home, going to concerts, skiing, swimming, coffee with the girls, different kinds of coffee.
In the team since: Member of “Club 2000”
Current position in the team: Night chef at the winter training session, bread and butter pudding the speciality.
Previous Positions held: Secretary, Chair.
Lowlights: Bono’s bark, and my lunch disappearing when he’s around. Losing my “bad hair day” title. Returning from Kerry a few years back after we had not found the missing person; it was a very hard journey to make.
Highlights: Training as a search manager, and then being able to use its scientific approach to saving lives. Being part of a team that is going from strength to strength. Getting involved in IMRA and being elected to the national executive. Meeting President Mary McAleese. The friends I have made in the fantastic bunch of people that make up SEMRA.
Name: Ray Bradfield
Lives: Co. Waterford;
in self-imposed exile from The People's Republic of Cork
Occupation: Dentist
Interests: Music, chess, politics, amateur dramatics, history, poetry, astronomy, hillwalking and curries.
In the team since: 2004
Current position in the team: Deputy Team Leader
Previous positions held: Treasurer
Lowlights: Failing to appear bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at work after a fruitless all-night search over the far end of the Galtys.
Highlights: Friendship, abseils, off-road excursions, winching, banter, searching, finding, learning, teaching, leading, following; most of all, being accepted into the extraordinary group of individuals that is Mountain Rescue in these islands.
Name: David P O Brien
Lives: Co.Waterford (still not okay with admitting to a recent hop over the Tipp border)
Occupation: Teacher, or more often than not, a crowd control specialist.
Interests: Any outdoor activity, lifesaving, reading, anything emergency service related.
In the team since: February 2008
Current position in the team: Full Team Member
Lowlights: I am too new to the team to have a lowlight, but I do hate the fact that Jimmy Barry always gets there first.
Highlights: Croagh Patrick; the middle-of-the-night callout; coming off the Wicklow Mountains one afternoon after an all-night search in heavy snow. Just as we came below cloud base, the first sight my party witnessed was a RAF Sea King and the IAC AW 139 in the air together. We all just stopped and, I think, savoured a small piece of history.
I have read Dr James A Begg’s account of British Royal Navy Rescue Helicopters (based at HMS Gannet) in his book, Rescue 177, where he describes going to shouts in the Atlantic in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He refers to re-fuelling in Derry and flying very low along the shores of Lough Foyle for fear of being shot out of the sky. Haven’t we moved forward a long way in a short number of years?