2011 Annual Report for the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team by Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue

ANNUAL REPORT:DUBLIN & WICKLOW MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM | 2011

Annual Report: Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team 2011 .

MOUNTAIN RESCUE IN DUBLIN AND WICKLOW THROUGHOUT 2011

Exceptional year for the Team by Chris England, Team Leader

Welcome to our first team annual report! I hope you will enjoy reading about the highlights and huge success the team has enjoyed had in the past year. Sadly this was also the year we lost one of our founder members, Gerry Butler who is in all our thoughts and memories. 2011 has brought many changes and developments in the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and a new Team Leader was just one of them. Below is an account of my experiences this year. The Team has benefited hugely from the professional approach taken by our Team Leaders in the past and this did fill me with some apprehension at taking on the role: Do I have the ability? The right approach? Or, even just the time? Ten months into the role, I’m not sure I can clearly answer any of these. The dedication shown to the Team by our members continues to grow year on year. These activities range from on the hill at a call out (were once again the numbers are in the 60’s), turning out for training events, the various committees and sub committees, not to mention fundraising events such as Walk The Line. The time commitment given, away from family and friends, in a selfless manner is huge and an inspiration.

To help in all this we have been very fortunate to have a large intake of new members this year, all of whom are keen and capable. They proved themselves invaluable to the Team during Walk the Line and have since been brought onto the live callout register. I have high hopes many will make the grade in their full team membership assessment in early 2012. Other Agencies: We have continued to develop a closer working relationship with our neighbouring team the Glen of Imaal Red Cross MRT (GoI). In addition to this we continued to strengthen our relations with the Gardai and Eastern Regional Ambulance Service. (Team Leader report is continued on page 4)

IN THIS ISSUE

Exceptional year for the Team ..................... 1 The Team Profile ........................................ 2 A Tribute to Gerry........................................3 Chairman’s Report .......................................5 Finance report ............................................ 6 Public Relations Officer report ..................... 7 Summary of Operations 2011 ..................... 8 Press releases ............................................ 10 Walk the Line 2011 .................................... 12 Participant Feedback on WTL .................... 14 Thanks to our WTL Participants ................. 15 New stretcher capable 4x4 ........................ 16 Probationary Diary 2011 ............................ 17 Mountain rescue on the run ....................... 19 “Callout 31” ............................................... 19 “The Mega Callout” .................................. 20 Cathaoirleach award! ................................. 21 Barking mad! ............................................. 21 Person of the Year 2011 ............................ 22 Annual Dinner 2011 .................................. 22 The year in photos! ................................... 24 The year in updates! .................................. 30 Thanks to all our 2011 Supporters! ............. 34 Emergency contact ................................... 35

ANNUAL REPORT CREATORS This report for 2011 was created by:  Brian O’Doherty (PRO)  Michelle Clarke (Assistant PRO) For questions or feedback on the contents contact: pro@dwmrt.ie

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The Team Profile The Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team has 62 team members. The team is made up from people from all backgrounds such as accountants, doctors, police, firemen, engineers, paramedics, auctioneers, investment bankers and even first aid instructors. They are unpaid volunteers who heroically give up their time and skills going to the aid of anyone in trouble on the hills. Honorary members (5 members) Awarded to team members or individuals who have gone over and above the call of duty     

Brendan Nolan Brian Hayes Derek Keegan Gerard Butler (RIP, see page 3) John Manning

Full Team members (33 members) Fully qualified and active search and rescue team members (*overall number includes the Committee, PRO & Member of the Year)   

2011 Member of the Year

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Awarded annually to the highest achieving member of the team



Gen Ward (DWMRT Deputy Team Leader, Civil Servant, 15 years on the team)

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Committee members       

Chairman: David Williams, (Engineer, 13 years on the team) Team Leader: Chris England (Project Manager, 11 years on the team) Treasurer: Shane Daly (Project Manager, 3 Years on the team) Secretary: Paul Keenan (Software Project Manager) Ordinary Member 1: James Connolly Ordinary Member 2: Brian Condon Ordinary Member 3: Kenny Roberts (exteam leader of DWMRT and current ViceChair of Mountain Rescue Ireland, Airport Police Training & Development Officer, 23 years on the team)

Public Relations Officer 

Brian O’Doherty (Engineer, 5 years on the team)

Friends of DWMRT 

These are valued folk who generously contribute financially to help with the running cost of the team

                 

Alan Cronin (Project Engineer, 4 months on the team) Brian Farrell (Financial Analyst, 2 years on the team) Brendan Lawlor (Business Consultant, 9 years on the team) Charlie McGuinness (Public Servant, 3 years on the team) Dave Cleary (Critical Care Paramedic, 6 years on the team) David Butler (DWMRT Deputy Team Leader, Company Director/Health & Safety Consultant ) Declan Cunningham (Deputy Team Leader, and a self-employed Rope Access/Mountain Skills Instructor & Journalist, 10yrs on the team) Edmund Fagan (ex-Team Leader of DWMRT, Operations Manager, Financial Services, 25 years on the team) Fearghal Bracken (DWMRT Deputy Team Leader) Gerry Condon Hugh O’Callaghan (Medical Doctor, 2 years on the team) James Connolly Joe O'Gorman John Dowling (Auctioneer, 3 years) John Noble (Programme Manager, 3 years on the team) John O'Brien Ken Worthington Mark Flynn (ex-Team Leader of DWMRT, self employed, 16 years on the team) Michael O'Donnell Pat Reid (self-employed, 14 years on the team) Paul Lynch Rowan Kavanagh (Programme Manager, 3 years on the team) Stephen Lambe Vaughan Mason (Firefighter/Advanced Paramedic, 22 years on the team) Wayne Jenkins (Self-employed, 3 years on the team)

Probationary members (13 members) Trainees who are currently undergoing extensive search and rescue skills training as part of the 2011 -2012 intake             

Adrian Nolan Cormac Lynch (Solicitor) David Mahon (Self employed) Diarmuid O' Colmain (Engineer, Scientist, Management Consultant) Gareth Little (Investment Banker) John Shiels (Photographer / IT consultant) Josephine Madden (Pharmaceutical Marketing) Kevin Hallahan (R&D Engineer) Michelle Clarke (Lead Program Manager) Rita Darcy (IT Consultant) Robert Creevey (Self Employed) Ronan Friel (Self Employed Electrician) Stephen McGuinness (Electronic Engineer)

Associate members (11 members)            

Alan Little Bryan Murtagh Ken Duffy Lisa O'Brien Noel Barton Paul Gilbert Paul Moran Philip Little Shay Walsh Terry Byrne Willie Flynn Tomasz Majszyk

We will be recruiting again in the summer of 2012! To learn more about becoming a member please contact recruitment @dwmrt.ie

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Gerry - Our Team Founder and Friend Recently the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue team lost a dear friend Gerry Butler. He was a leading light as an honorary member. He had been a member of the An Óige Mountain Rescue Team before becoming a founder of the Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team. He also served as the team secretary for several years. Gerry’s passion was Mountain Rescue and he was very active in Mountain Rescue Ireland (MRI). He had a depth of operational knowledge, loved radio's and communications. He could talk for hours about repeaters and channels. Gerry loved the medical side of the service that mountain rescue provides and was an extremely well qualified first responder. He was instrumental in bringing the Wilderness Emergency Medical Technical qualification to Ireland and was an esteemed member of the Wilderness Emergency Medical Service Instistute (WEMSi) faculty. He was a skilled mountaineer and a very active hillwalker for several years. Gerry was extremely helpful. With his trademark bushy beard and flowing locks he was impossible to miss in a group. He was well equipped – he was renowned for his heavy kit of personal gear that he always carried on the hill. He was a great asset to our team. We have all lost a dear friend and esteemed colleague.Our thoughts are with Gerry’s family and friends, the mountaineering community and his wider family of Mountain Rescue. This is a great loss to our team. Ar dheis De go raibh a h-anam - May Gerry rest in peace.

A TRIBUTE TO GERRY A friend is someone we turn to when our spirits need a lift. A friend is someone we treasure for our friendship is a gift. A friend is someone who fills our lives with beauty, joy and grace. And makes the whole world we live in a better and happier place. I believe in angels, The kind that heaven sends, I am surrounded by angels, But I call them friends.

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An Exceptional Year (continued from page 1)

launched just as R117 from Waterford arrived on scene and fortunately was able to do the lift.

Operationally we have had some very interesting call outs this year including three and four callouts in one afternoon, very busy operational periods seeing us out for multiple days in a row and also more tragic operations which seen loss of life.

Ten minutes later we had Operation 4. A group had been out walking and a younger member of the group had decided to run on ahead and go himself lost. After a quick search of the forestry tracks in the area he was located and both Teams stood down from the busiest day either team had witnessed.

4 in an afternoon: Back in the summer we had a very busy afternoon which tested our resources and strength in depth. The day was a bright and sunny one so the tourists were out in their masses when we responded to our first callout of the day – a serious shoulder injury on the Spinc. This was immediately followed by a request for help from a female hill-walker who had suffered an ankle injury higher in the mountains. As team members were dealing with these two incidents, we received a call for a third incident – a spinal injury at Lough Dan. Due to the nature of the injury and the remoteness of the casualty site the Coast Guard helicopter, R116, was requested. Normally this would be the end of things, however, whilst attending the incident R116 had to shut down their engines due to a warning alarm activating.

We are now onto alternative plans: B: get another helicopter, C: Carry out over the rough track to an awaiting ambulance, D: boat the casualty down the nearby Lough Dan to an awaiting ambulance. We decided to go for both B and D, just in case we got another sick helicopter. With a member of the GoI also being National Park staff they were able to get the park boat and this was

Mullaghcleevaun & Garda Jones: After the normal spell of one off incidents from the summer through to late autumn we were hit with the very heavy rain in late October. Unusually heavy rain over a very short spell created havoc in Wicklow, a great weekend for Team training. Towards the end of two days of training on the Sunday afternoon, the team were called to assist in the evacuation of a group from Djouce who had become wet and mildly hypothermic. I believe we all felt that was it for the day, how wrong we were. At approximately 8pm we got the call for a group of 11 walkers who had become stranded the wrong side of the Glenmacnass River in full flood and were now on steep ground near Mullaghcleevaun. Unfortunately the heavy rains, very strong gusting winds and fast flowing river that prevented these persons crossing also slowed up our getting to them and prevented their immediate evacuation. After considering several options we were faced with the decision that we needed to wait out the darkness and wait the easing of the weather predicted around dawn. To do this we then had to get food, warm drinks, shelters and casualty wraps to those on the hill to see them through the night. No small logistical task to assemble and a greater task for those to carry in. Some of the casualties may have required a stretcher evacuation so we decided to call on neighbouring teams, Mourne MRT, SEMRA & North West MRT, to assist. Thankfully for us all, at approximately 4.50am the lull in the weather arrived and one hour later the river had receded enough to allow it to be crossed. By 8.30am, some 12.5 hrs after being tasked all were safely off the hill.

I’m not sure how many of us got much sleep that day, I for one didn’t get any, so when the call came in that evening for a person swept away in flood waters in what was still very heavy rain I dreaded the worst. Searching at night around flood waters is inherently dangerous. With fast flowing water this danger goes up tenfold, added to this we had fatigued rescue team members. Despite this, team members still stepped up. Very quickly we learned the missing person was an Off Duty Garda. Despite being Off Duty he had been trying to warn motorists to avoid a local bridge which looked close to being swept away. In doing this Garda Ciaran Jones, aged 25, was himself swept away. Both DWMRT and GoI searched what they could in the hours of darkness and resumed at first light on the Tuesday. Unfortunately his remains were located at approximately 8.30am. I would like to take this opportunity to again pass on the Team´s condolences to Garda Jones family, our thoughts are with you. Following the two teams response to this incident, the friends and family of Garda Jones held a fundraiser for both teams and we received a donation. With this donation I am seeking to fund swift water awareness training for all team members. Which way now? With a large number of new enthusiastic team members, two new 4x4's to add to our existing two vehicles, Walk the Line 2 and the Art O’Neill Challenge, 2012 is already shaping up to be busy. In order to give the Team some direction beyond the next call out I will be working with the Committee and Deputy Team Leaders to develop an action plan for the Team for the next 3-5 years. I would hope this plan will give some direction on where we want to go as a team in areas such as career management & training, fundraising and base development. Hopefully following all this I will be able to give answers: do I have the ability? The right approach? Or, even just the time? ABOUT CHRIS Chris is a project manager with an international construction company. He has been an active mountaineer for many years and has enjoyed many trips to the alps in between competing in triathlons at ironman distance. He is married with two children and lives in Wicklow. CONTACT:TEAMLEADER@DWMRT.IE

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The money that was raised is being put towards the purchase of a much needed 4x4 stretcher capable vehicle, notably a Landrover 110. We plan to take receipt of this vehicle in early 2012. Most importantly we plan to run this event again in 2012 as one of our key fundraisers. As a consequence of the work completed by Gen Ward for Walk the Line, she was awarded 'Team member of the year' for 2011 in recognition of the hard work she put in for such a successful event.

Chairman’s Report by David Williams, Team Chairman

This year was a very busy year for the team. As per 2010, team members took part in the Wicklow Way Relay, a race of 126 km along the Wicklow Way. 2011 was a little different, due to the large numbers of team members having taking up hill running over the last couple of years, we were lucky enough to be able to enter 2 teams and get 20 members involved. The Wicklow Way event did a couple of things for team members, improved our team comradeship, team member's fitness and also gave us an additional avenue to raise much needed funds. It was also a good social outlet, a number of team members know meet regularly at weekends to go hill running. In June of 2011, the team was honoured to receive the An Caithaoirleach Award from Lettie McCartney, Chairperson of DunLaoireRathdown County Council. We received the award for services provided by the team in the European Year of the Volunteer. The team where delighted to attend and receive this award and it now hangs proudly in our base in Roundwood. Our big event of 2011 was 'Walk the Line', for years we've talked about organizing a fundraiser like this but we just never got around to it! With the decrease in government funding we had to think of a creative way to raise much needed funds for the team. The initial planning started in late 2010, and in early January 2011, Gen Ward was appointed event manager. For a volunteer, Gen ran the event like a professional event management company; everyone knew what their role was and what was expected of them! The event was a massive success, we had almost 300 people take part and raise in excess of €38,000 for the team.

As an expanding area of the team we formed a new PR group. This group of people not only deals with the social media but also look after our website, news releases and general news queries that come into the team. This is very much one of the hidden tasks that members of the team are involved in but a very necessary requirement.

As the year was coming to a close the team was very fortunate to receive funding from the National Lottery through the Department of Health and Children to the tune of €45000 for the provision of a 4x4 Landrover 110 stretcher capable vehicle. This is in addition to the vehicle being purchased by the funds generated from Walk the Line. We should not forget our team's biggest supporters, the wives, husbands, partners, children and extended families of our team members. They allow us to disappear at short notice without question to rescue a complete stranger often in inclement weather. They are the unsung heroes of mountain rescue. Without the support of these people we as team members could not do the job we do.

The team has gone from strength to strength over the last number of years, we continued to grow as an organization and increase our strength in operational capability. The development of the team and its team members are very much a driving force to the future. Team members are like an extended family of which you put your life in their hands. Without each other we could not be the team that we are.

“As we embark on a new year it really is a great time to be part of the Team, I'm proud to be a member.”

ABOUT DAVID David is an engineer with a large medical manufacturing company. He is an avid hill walker and runner as well as being the team diplomat and agony aunt. He is often seen traipsing around the Wicklow hills with his wife and child in tow. CONTACT:

chair@dwmrt.ie

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

Finance report by Treasurer, Shane Daly Balancing the team finances is always challenging for any charity and particularly so in the current difficult economic climate. The Dublin Wicklow Mountain rescue team could not be successful or be equipped to save lives without the continued great support we get from the public. The team needs roughly €70,000 a year to run the team. This is funded in part (approximately 20%) by an Irish government grant. In 2011 this grant got cut down from the 30% funds we depended on in previous years which was a funding gap challenge that the team had to respond to in the past year. Unfortunately the more time the volunteers on team dedicate to fundraising activities the more it distracts from their core focus of responding to incidents and improving their rescue skills. This is exactly why the support of you, the public is a critical part of the continued viability of our team finances.

What do you spend money on? We are always under pressure to replace and update equipment to ensure the highest level of safety when responding to callouts. In order to ensure our people have the best possible skills when handling a casualty we need to provide a high level of professional training.

Training report by Mark Flynn

The following are the highlights of the 2011 Training Program for the team • 27 internal training events comprised of 11full training days dedicated to a wide range of mountain rescue skills & 16 evening sessions • Team members attended six external specialist courses such as swift water technician, advanced rope rescue to incident management

The upkeep our team base in Roundwood and the costs required to operationally maintain and run our team vehicles are the other main components of expenditure for the team.

What were the main sources of income for the team in 2011?

high priority for the team for FY11 since the number of callout’s continues to increase year on year. In addition to this the contributions received through donations, street collections, collection box’s in local shops and Remote Emergency Care first aid courses all helped cover the cost of the day-to-day operations of the team. In 2012 the team will again be reliant on donations and support for our fundraising activities from the general public, and we hope to concentrate a good deal of our funding in the coming year on team training.

Primarily funding comes from our fundraising activities and the generous donations we get from clubs and individuals. This has helped bridge the government grant funding shortfall we experienced this year. In June, the team organized a very successful “Walk the Line” challenge event, which raised over €38,000 for the team. This successful fundraising together with some team savings and a HSE National Lottery grant for €45,000 Euro, enabled us to purchase two new team vehicles. This was a

• Deputy Team Leaders training in managing incidents,operating procedures and call out procedures • Medical training ranging from Emergency Medical Technician, Remote Emergency Care 3, 4&5 • Balanced training with sixty plus incidents a year is always challenging and we will continue to embrace that in 2012 and continue to train to the highest standards available to the tea • Trained sixteen new recruits in 2011 – this year we had a busy probationary programme running through 2011 with a very promising group who will be getting prepared for assessment in mid-2012

“Huge thanks to each of our supporters in 2011. The team volunteers deeply appreciate your continued support into 2012.”

ABOUT SHANE Shane works with a US multinational and is married with three teenage sons. He is with the team 3 years and was previously involved in Scouting for many years.

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Public Relations Officer report by Brian O’Doherty I took on this role halfway through 2011 after successfully promoting the Walk the Line event over a very hectic 5 months – it was fantastic to see the support the public had for that event and I enjoyed telling people about the things we do. There’s a huge amount of work from the website to writing press releases to dealing with calls from the public on all sorts of things – the latest included a request to rescue a cat and a man who wanted to know where he was (see callout number 1 of 2012!). I’m lucky to have two other team members to support me – Michelle Clarke and Rita Darcy. This year we were approached by RTÉ with an opportunity to showcase not only ourselves and the Glen of Imaal team but Mountain Rescue as a whole by taking part in a new documentary style TV show for RTÉ. Similar to the recent series of Rescue 117,

Medical report By Pat Reid

Here are the highlights of the 2011 Medical Program for the team • Team will be running a PHECC Emergency First Response in Feb/March 2012

RTÉ proposed that we carry cameras on our callouts to get a close up picture of what really happens. We met with the producers of the show and agreed how we could best achieve what they needed without compromising safety. Whilst apprehensive about this at first, we did not want this to detract from our primary function of serving the causality on the hill. We agreed to take the proposal back to the membership for ratification. Team members backed it whole heartedly. On the various callouts throughout the year team members carried a number of helmet cameras and got close up details of the work the team does

• Medical training ranging from Emergency Medical Technician, Remote Emergency Care 3, 4&5 was ran in 2011 • Team will have its stretcher capable on the road in 2012; vehicle will be equipped with extra medical equipment • Hugh O’Callaghan (Medical Doctor) became a full time member of the rescue team in 2011

7 out on the hills and at rescue base during real callouts. We believe the show will go to air in the Autumn/Winter of 2012. Throughout the year the team continued to build on the use of social media with Facebook and Twitter. In today's world of instant news and information, the Team felt we needed to embrace this to ensure all our supporters and sponsors could get updates on what the team was doing but also give brief details of the callouts and events that the team was involved in on a real time basis. A few commentators used the media to express their desire to see people charged for our services, calling those rescued “irresponsible”. We reject this idea both on the grounds that it is impractical as well as anathema to our ethos as a voluntary and community based service. Of course we urge people to enjoy the hills safely and consider their actions carefully but we will never charge anyone who calls us looking for help. The next year promises to be even busier as we find more and more ways to communicate about the team and public interest in good stories about volunteers working in rescue continues to grow.

LEVEL OF MEDICAL EXPERTISE All team members must have a basic wilderness first aid qualification (such as Rescue and Emergency Care Level 3). Most team members are trained to a higher level and we are fortunate to have a high number of medical professionals on the team from nurses and emergency medical technicians to advanced paramedics and doctors.

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the missing lady was located safe/well and walked off to safety.

Summary of Operations 2011 1) 01-Jan-11: Lugnaquilla Mountain: Two hillwalkers who became disorientated on Lugnaquilla Mountain in Co. Wicklow when a mist descended on the area leading to poor visibility. The two were guided off the mountain by rescuers 2) 07-Jan-11: Slieve Foye, Carlingford: Male hill walker who had sustained a lower leg injury on the northern side of Slieve Foye in Carlingford. 3) 07-Jan-11: Art O'Neill Walk: The Team were requested to support a walking challenge "The Art O'Neill Challenge" which was taking place over 2 days, the 6th & 7th January 2011. 4) 16-Jan-11: Lugnaquilla: Male walker who had slipped whilst descending the summit rock band on Lugnaquilla Mountain. The lone walker had sustained a dislocated knee cap. 5) 05-Feb-11: Annalecka Brook: Kayaker trapped in a branch in flood waters. The Kayaker and his paddling partners were able to self-rescue without injury 6) 07-Feb-11: Galteee Mts, Co. Tipperary: 7th Feb 2011 - standby for missing walker in Galtee Mts 7) 12-Feb-11: Lugnaquilla Mountain: Group of four people lost up Lugnaquillia, one of whom sustained an ankle injury and had to be carried off. 8) 05-Mar-11: Bray Head, Co Wicklow: Gardai requested the assistance of the Dublin / Wicklow Mountain Rescue team for an ongoing search for a missing female. The search turned up nothing and the team was stood down. 9) 05-Mar-11: Mullacor, Co Wicklow: 5th March - Rescue of Scout with lower leg injury on Mullacor saddle- Evacuated via MR Land Rover 10) 13-Mar-11: Glendalough, Co Wicklow: Sunday, 13th March, a 16-year old fell in Glendalough while hillwalking. As the weather was clear and visibility very good, the Sikorsky helicopter was able to airlift the injured gir...

11) 17-Mar-11: Lugnaquilla, Co. Wicklow: 17th March 2011 - Walker injured descending from Lug. MR assisted the Def Forces. 12) 03-Apr-11: Bray Head Co. Wicklow: Male hillwalker in his 40's, who while descending Bray Head Co. Wicklow sustained a lower leg injury. Team members located the injured walker with the assistance of the local gardai. The casualty was treated for his injuries by a mountain rescue medic and packaged onto a stretcher for extraction by helicopter. 13) 08-Apr-11: GlenmalureValley Lone walker in the Glenmalure Valley had become disorientated after losing his map. 14) 10-Apr-11: Raven's Rock - Wicklow Way: Request for assistance from a lady in her 60â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s had received a lower leg injury. 15) 10-Apr-11: Sugar Loaf Mountain: While the team was dealing with our other incident near Raven Rock, we were alerted to a second incident on the Sugar Loaf Mountain.. Rescue 116 had dropped off the first casualty to Tallaght and routed back to the Sugar Loaf to pick up this casualty. 16) 10-Apr-11: Long Hill Road: Team members returning to base after the two callouts, came across a RTC on the Long Hill road, Mountain Rescue Medics are treating and stabilising the casualty an elderly female and are awaiting the arrival of other services.

21) 25-Apr-11: "The Spink" Glendalough: Woman who fell on the 'Spink' whilst walking in Glendalough and had injured her shoulder. Evacuated by stretcher. 22) 25-Apr-11: Borenacrowwoman - Wicklow Way: Lady who sprained her ankle on the Wicklow Way near Borenacrowwoman. 23) 25-Apr-11: Inchavore Valley - Lough Dan: Hillwalker who had been camping in the Inchavore valley near Lough Dan and had fallen and injured his lower back and ribs. During this rescue the Irish Coastguard helicopter developed a fault and a second helicopter was required. 24) 25-Apr-11: Glenmalure, Co Wicklow: Our fourth callout on the Easter bank holiday monday began at 6pm, and consisted of a missing 16 yr old teenager who was walking with his family but had become separated from them. They had been walking near Lugnaquillia near Glenmalure and had lost contact from each other in the Kelly's Lake area, quite high up on the mountain. Thankfully, the youth was discovered on a track in the Glenmalure valley. 25) 02-May-11: Glendalough: Lady with a lower leg injury on the Zig Zag track at the head of the Glendalough Valley. 26) 13-May-11: Glendalough: 65 year old male, who had sustained a suspected lower leg fracture.

17) 16-Apr-11: Glendalough, Co Wicklow: Woman trapped in Glendalough boulder field near Miner's Village

27) 28-May-11: Fairy Castle - Wicklow Way: Young female girl guide who was on a day hike from Larch Hill Scout Centre near Kilmashogue, the young girl tripped while descending from Fairy Castle along the Wicklow Way, sustaining a forearm injury.

18) 16-Apr-11: Wicklow: Sunday 17th April 2011 - At 3.30pm a walker on Derrybawn Mt suffered a cardiac arrest and was airlifted to Tallaght for further treatment. The man in his 60's was pronounced dead in hospital.

28) 04-Jun-11: Bansha Woods: The South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association (SEMRA) requested our teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistance in a search for a missing male in the Bansha area of Co. Tipperary.

19) 21-Apr-11: : 3 children became lost for a short period in Devil's Glen.

29) 07-Jun-11: Lugnaquilla: Group of four hillwalkers in their 30's who, due to bad weather conditions became disorientated on Lugnaquilla.

20) 23-Apr-11: Boulder Field, Miners Village, Glendalough, Co Wicklow. Missing person in the boulder field, Miners Village, Glendalough. Within a short period of time

30) 08-Jun-11: Brockagh Mountain: Hillrunner was injured during an organised

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011 mountain run on Brockagh Mountain , near Laragh, Co Wicklow. 31) 11-Jun-11: Brockagh Forest: A lady in her 30’s had sustained a lower leg injury while participating in an organised hill running event. 32) 12-Jun-11: 4 Peaks Challenge: The team provided rescue cover on an organised 4 peaks challenge event, there was no injuries to report 33) 25-Jun-11: Walk the Line Challenge Event

43) 30-Jul-11: Fairy Castle. Rescue. Unconscious casualty experiencing seizures was airlifted to hospital.

having fallen from a cliff. The casualty was evacuated later that evening by a RAF Seeking helicopter

44) 31-Jul-11: Croagh Patrick. Rescue. Casualty fell close to the summit whilst descending the mountain on Reeks Sunday. She suffered bruising and abrasions to the side of her head and also sustained a lower leg injury.

52) 18-Sep-11: Bohernabreena. Rescue. Male sustained a lower leg injury whilst hunting.

45) 06-Aug-11: 83 year old woman sustained a lower leg injury. and was quickly treated for a lower leg injury before being packaged for a stretcher evacuation.

34) 27-Jun-11: Flares reported to An Garda Síochána. Apparently Army continued night firing beyond their schedule. Visited Army camp in Kilbride to resolve situation.

56) 07-Oct-11: Female with a lower leg injury on the Spink in Glendalough. Mountain Rescue medics on scene treated the casualty, packaged her onto a stretcher and carried her safely off the mountain to an awaiting HSE ambulance. 57) 16-Oct-11: Lady and 2 children who had become disorientated and could not find their way on Bray Head, Co Wicklow.

36) 12-Jul-11: Three Rock Mountain. Standby. Hillwalker who had sustained a lower leg injury.

38) 17-Jul-11: Glen Of Imaal Army Range. Assist. A man and woman had strayed into the Artillery range operated by the Defence Forces. 39) 20-Jul-11: Glenmalure. Rescue. Female with a lower leg injury in the area of Clohernagh. Rescue 116 was tasked by the HSE due to the difficult terrain. 40) 24-Jul-11: Lough Dan. Standby. The team were requested to do a radio standby for the "Beast of the East" triathlon covering swimming, running and cycling 41) 25-Jul-11: Glen Of Imaal. Search. Assisted in a search for a missing 62 year old local man in the area. 42) 27-Jul-11: Bray Head. Standby. Casualty with a lower leg injury at the cross on Bray Head. Coastguard winched the casualty to safety.

53) 19-Sep-11: Glencullen. Search. Missing 66 year old hill walker located using Gardai FLIR (Forward looking infra red) camera and was treated by mountain rescue medics. 54) 25-Sep-11: 25th September 2011 - MR assist a scout walking in the Glendalough valley who had suffered a lower leg injury. 55) 29-Sep-11: Bray Head. Rescue. Assisted with a casualty who had sustained a lower leg injury near the summit of Bray Head.

35) 02-Jul-11: Lugnaquilla. Assist. Female hill runner suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion was assisted by team members.

37) 16-Jul-11: Lugnaquillia. Assist. Group of 3 who had become disorientated whilst descending Wicklow highest mountain

58) 23-Oct-11: Family group of 5 who had started a walk near Djouce Mountain and had been surprised by the high winds and driving rain

46) 10-Aug-11: Three Rock Mountain. Mountain biker fell while descending a rocky path sustaining head and arm injuries. 47) 13-Aug-11: Glendalough. Rescue. Climber took a fall while climbing. The casualty was treated for a suspected spinal injury as well as a dislocated shoulder and a number of lacerations. 48) 20-Aug-11: Ballinastoe Woods. Rescue. Mountain biker who had sustained a shoulder injury. 49) 20-Aug-11: Lugnaquilla. Search. Lost lone walker ended up in the Military firing range. Located by members of a mountain rescue search party and walked safely off the mountain. 50) 27-Aug-11: Glenmacnass Car Park. Search. Missing hillwalker who eventually turned up safe and well. 51) 08-Sep-11: Yorkshire, UK. Standby. 2 team members were attending an event in the UK were requested to give assistance to a female walker who had sustained injuries

59) 23-Oct-11: Overnight rescue of 11 hikers trapped by swollen rivers (see separate report). 60) 24-Oct-11: In the evening of Monday 24th October Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and the Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team, participated in a search in the Blessington area after a man was swept into a fast-flowing river whilst trying to assist fellow motorists to safely navigate the flood water. The team were contacted directly by An Garda Síochana just after 7pm on Monday night when a report was received from a member of the public of an incident at Ballysmuttan Bridge, Co Wicklow. The team spoke directly to an informant who had witnessed the incident and the team callout officer immediately alerted other search and rescue agencies and initiated a full team callout for DWMRT. Two of our local team members were very quickly at Blessington Garda Station where An Garda Siochana were coordinating the search operation. Team vehicles were escorted to the scene by a Garda 4x4 due to chaotic traffic conditions in Dublin and Wicklow. Nearly 20 team

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011 members were involved in both stages of the operation and a number of other team members who responded to provide assistance had to turn back due to the difficult road conditions. Members of the Glen team were also involved in the search. The search continued over night in testing and dangerous conditions. The following morning, searchers located and retrieved the man's body from the river near to where he was swept away and the search operation was stood down by An Garda Síochana. The Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team would like to express its deepest sympathies to the family, GAA club members, friends and colleagues of Garda Jones. Funeral arrangements and a statement from the Garda Commissioner follow below. May he rest in peace. 61) 30-Oct-11: A father and his two young sons had become disoriented in very poor

visibility whilst descending from the summit of Lugnaquillia. Search teams eventually located the group at 11.45pm, and the operation was completed by 1.00am. 62) 02-Nov-11: Two female hill-walkers found themselves lost in dense mist and failing light, near the summit of Mullacor mountain (660m). 63) 05-Nov-11: A walker ascending Lugnaquillia experienced chest pains and weakness. Rescue teams reached the man and his companions by 1.30pm and were able to make him more comfortable. The Irish Coastguard helicopter was tasked to assist and airlift the Irish hill-walker. The man in his 60's was winched aboard the Sikorsky helicopter at 2.00pm and transferred to Tallaght hospital for further treatment 64) 06-Nov-11: Lady with injured foot near Ticknock, treated and transported by mountain rescue

responded quickly to the scene and were able to locate the man quickly.

Press releases by Brian O’Doherty, PRO

The team generally issues a press release following callouts. Normally these are picked up by local news and some websites. Every now and again the story merits wider attention and it appears on national media. The effort is important – it informs the public about the work of mountain rescue and it lets people know that this type of service is available. We’ve included a sample here. Hunters urged to take care on the hills as deer season kicks off (19 September 2011) Mountain Rescue in Wicklow was yesterday (Sunday 18th Sept) tasked to assist a hunter who had sustained a lower leg injury whilst out with friends near Corrig Mountain in North Wicklow. The group attempted to move the man themselves but quickly realised that they would need help in order to bring the injured party to safety. They contacted Mountain Rescue by dialling 999 on their mobiles and describing the situation to the operator. A group of mountain rescue volunteers who had been attending a first aid course in the nearby Knockree Youth Hostel

Their approach involved a 3km drive in 4x4 along a rough track followed by a 3km hike carrying first aid equipment across the bog. The difficult access route combined with the deteriorating weather conditions led to the decision to request the assistance of the Irish Coastguard helicopter. Whilst they waited they treated the casualty for his injuries and made him comfortable. The Sikorsky S-61 helicopter was quickly airborne and the rescuers relayed their position via the more powerful radio equipment in a nearby Mountain Rescue 4x4. Once the helicopter was at the scene the rescuers deployed smoke flares to assist the pilot in his approach. The casualty was airlifted in difficult wind conditions and taken to Tallaght hospital where he is expected to make a full recovery. His companions, along with his hunting equipment and dog, were escorted to the road side by the volunteers.

Following the call, Mountain Rescue would like to urge all visitors to the Wicklow uplands to exercise appropriate precautions in the hills. "September is the start of the deer season and many hunters are unaware that a rescue service is available to them in the hills" says Brian O'Doherty, PRO for Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team

10 65) 06-Nov-11: Lady with serious upper arm injury on the Sugar Loaf 66) 11-Nov-11: Group of three female hill walkers seperated by flood water were assisteed by a mountain rescue hill party. 67) 20-Nov-11: Father and son lost on Lug near Fraughan Rock Glen 68) 26-Nov-11: A female hillwalker sustained a minor injury at Lough Dan. She was assisted by a small number of mountain rescue team members. 69) 17-Dec-12: Team member treated a member of the public with a suspected cardiac arrest in Glenmalure 70) 27-Dec-11: Female in her early 20's who had suffered a lower left leg injury out walking on Djouce in a group of 7 friends and their dogs

(DWMRT). "A lot of hunters are out at night and as the weather starts to get colder it is imperative that they request assistance as soon as possible in the event of an emergency. Mountain Rescue is entirely staffed by volunteers and operates 365 days a year in all weather conditions. We're there to help if we're needed" The attached image shows mountain rescue volunteers Gerard Condon and Rowan Kavanagh escorting the man's companions and dogs to the roadside whilst carrying his shotgun. Many thanks to all those attending the scene including the injured party's friends and the crew of Rescue 116. Lugnaquillia Mountain (20 August 2011) At 16:00hrs members of the Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and the Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team received their second callout of the day for a lost lone walker on Lugnaquillia. The male walker had reached the summit of Lugnaquillia however due to deteriorating weather conditions whilst descending he ended up in the Military firing range. At 19.15hrs the gentleman was located at the base of the north prison cliffs by members of a mountain rescue search party and walked safely off the mountain.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011 Glendalough (13 August 2011 Mountain Rescue Teams responded to a report of a 29 year old male climber who had taken a fall while climbing in Glendalough. Both the Dublin & Wicklow MRT and the Red Cross Glen Of Imaal MRT responded. Mountain Rescue medics treated the casualty on scene, who had sustained a number of injuries from a 6 meter fall. The casualty was treated for a suspected spinal injury as well as a dislocated shoulder and a number of lacerations. The Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter Rescue 116 based at Dublin Airport was dispatched to airlift the casualty to hospital.

condition of each member of the party and treated minor injuries. Torrential rain, howling winds, hailstones and plummeting temperatures ensured that keeping the group and the mountain rescue volunteers warm and dry was a priority. Equipment such as group shelters, specialised, lightweight heatpacks and technical bivy bags proved invaluable and all members of the group were given hot drinks and food. At this point the situation remained extremely serious and assistance was requested from three neighbouring mountain rescue teams in case conditions deteriorated further.

Three Rock Mountain (10 August 2011) On Wednesday 10th August at approx. 8pm the GardaĂ requested the assistance of Mountain Rescue. A mountain biker in her early 20's, was mountain biking with a group and fell while descending a rocky path on 3 Rock Mtn. sustaining head and arm injuries. Both the Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and the Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team responded to the incident. The ambulance service was able to access the tracks and a paramedic was on scene quickly to provide medical aid. The mountains rescue teams then stretcher-carried the injured woman down to the forest road, to the awaiting ambulance. She was quickly then transferred to St Vincent's hospital for further treatment. 16 people rescued in one day in Wicklow (24 Oct 2011) Extreme weather conditions combined with very high water levels in rivers in the Wicklow mountains contributed to 16 people requiring rescue yesterday,. Despite completing a strenuous training exercise earlier on Sunday, Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue and the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue responded to two separate incidents during the day, with the last rescue continuing through the night until 7am this morning. The first rescue involved a family group of 5 who had started a walk near Djouce Mountain and had been surprised by the high winds and driving rain. At about 1.30pm, as they sought shelter behind a wall, mountain rescue volunteers who had been out walking in the area spotted them. They approached the group and quickly established that they needed help in order to ensure their safety.

They were quickly assessed by a mountain rescue medic and provided with warm clothes and food. They were then escorted a short distance across a river to a forest track where Mountain Rescue 4x4 vehicles were able to transport them back to their cars. The second incident involved an experienced group from a Dublin based hiking club. The 11 people in the group had started their walk from the car park above Glenmacnass waterfall at 11am that morning. When they were about to finish their hike that evening they realised that the river between them and their cars had swollen and they would not be able to cross it safely. The group decided to move upstream in order to find a safer place to cross but remained stranded on the wrong side of the river. At approximately 7.30pm, they found themselves under a small cliff beside the fast-flowing river with no hope of crossing or moving further upstream. At this point they decided to call mountain rescue and ask for assistance. A full callout was initiated at 8pm and over 40 members of Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue and the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue quickly responded to a remote location just south of the Sally Gap. The volunteers made their way to the group in horrendous weather conditions across rough, steep ground, crossing three swollen rivers along the way. Radio communications in the area proved to be difficult due to the steep terrain and a relay station was established at a high point in order to ensure complete coverage. Once the group was reached, mountain rescue medics assessed the

Spirits in the group remained high despite the weather conditions and the news that an overnight stay at their current location was likely to be necessary. The Met Office in Dublin Airport were assisting the planning of the evacuation of the group by providing us with weather updates throughout the night. A break in the weather around 4.30am allowed rescue personnel to start moving the stranded group to safety. The evacuation involved providing roped security measures on three rivers and leading the group across the rough and treacherous terrain to safety. Each member of the group was assigned a mountain rescue team member to support them on the evacuation whilst other team members navigated, rigged the ropes on the rivers or carried out equipment which had been used during the night. At approximately 6.30am, the last member of the group reached a waiting mountain rescue 4x4 and was driven down a track to rescue base. All members of the group were assessed by a waiting HSE ambulance crew as a precaution â&#x20AC;&#x201C; none required further treatment and were able to drive home, a little later than expected. Team members packed up all the wet gear and were able to leave the scene at roughly 7.30am after a long and difficult night in the mountains. Mountain Rescue would like to thank all of the participants in the two rescues:

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

Walk the Line 2011 by Declan Cunningham, Journalist with Outsider magazine and DWMRT Deputy Team Leader.

* Many thanks to Outsider Magazine for permission to reprint this article

On June 26 2011, roughly 300 people took to the hills of Wicklow to take part in the Walk The Line fundraising event for the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team. The night hiking event, which was sponsored by Great Outdoors, traced a 32km route along the Dublin Wicklow border from Kilbride right into Marlay Park. A long-standing member of DWMRT team, Outsider’s mountaineering Declan Cunningham reccied the trek and also guided on the eventful night. Here he takes us through the route, which he reckons is as good as any if you fancy a challenging night (or day) of walking. The inventor Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” When heading out in the hills you’d do well to remember my own slight variation on that famous quote: enjoying your walk requires about 99% preparation and 1% respiration. Basically, picking the right route, having the right gear and knowing not just what the weather will do, but what you are capable of, will ultimately result in a great day out, regardless of where you choose to go. Now, if you’re a bit of a heavy breather you may decide to change the percentages slightly to avoid asphyxiation but you get the gist of the idea. Hence, given that our plan was to bring around 300 hikers out for the Walk the Line night hiking challenge to raise much needed funds for DWMRT , we knew that we had to put in a lot of organising and legwork before the first participant even put

their boots on. So we got busy on the 99% preparation by doing a full recce of the route. We didn’t want any surprise on the night so we acquainted ourselves with just about every step of the way in advance and in the dark. This might sound daft but things look different when you can’t see them! The Walk the Line route can be easily broken down into three sections, each of which is a worthwhile outing in its own right. Leg 1 runs from Kilbride to the Military Road and takes 3-4 hours. Leg 2 takes about the same time and takes you to Glencullen. The final stage only takes 2-3 hours as it’s all on tracks. (See more details below.) Add it all together though and it’s quite the route! Out after dark So four of us from DWMRT got deposited at Kilbride just to see what people were letting themselves in for. Our route climbed easily up the tree line as it skirts the boundary of the Kilbride Firing Range. Keep that in mind if walking in the area and make sure not to stray onto the range. The first little summit of Seefin is adorned with an impressive Bronze Age tomb but its narrow entrance is best admired from the outside to avoid damage. This is the seat of the legendary Fionn MacCumhaill of the Fianna who supposedly loved to hunt stag and elk in the area. Descending into the col en route to Seefingan the going gets pretty boggy. There are a few variations on direction possible here with the most obvious one leading directly to yet another megalithic tomb just west of Seefingan’s 726m summit. Close to the actual summit is the partially buried War Department boundary stone which was used to indicate the limits of the firing range.

We had been skirted by passing showers but it was a warm evening and pleasant going as we descended into thePass of Athdown, otherwise known (to me at least) as the Black Hole of Calcutta. This has to be the bog capital of Ireland, a soggy Bermuda triangle even. Our goal was to pick as environmentally friendly a route through this area as possible for exactly that reason. The team had been in contact with the national park and Mountaineering Ireland about this area and how it was likely to hold up to a big event like our one. In the end, we selected no less than three potential routes through this delicate spot to minimise wear. By now, dusk was catching us. Getting benighted is generally a bad thing on a walk but when you go out with that intention I sort of look forward to it. I like to walk through the fading light and enjoy that added element of madness of being out in the middle of nowhere at all hours. I’ve heard it said that there’s no such thing as gravity because the earth sucks. Well that is very much the case on the way across and up to Kippure. Every step is gained against the bogs gluey reluctance. Boots and gaiters are an absolute must but it is fun all the same. In fact, in good visibility you can pick out the grassy peat hags and avoid the worst of the muck. Some showers finally found us on this crossing but the resulting rainbows seemed to descend directly into the dark earth in the distance with the customary arcs lost in even darker cloud. At times like that the madness that gets me into the hills seems more an enlightenment than an affliction.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011 Kippure’s Mast is over 100m high and as good a landmark as you’re likely to find on any hill or mountain in Ireland. The amazing thing is that despite its size, fogand cloud can often conceal its pulsing beacons till you’re close enough to trip over the stay wires. Beware the sink holes Our route descended from here towards the old bog road that leads to the Military Road and The Featherbeds. The bog takes on a slightly different character on this section with great big sink holes dotted around the area. Some are deep enough to need a rope to get out of and there’s plenty of opportunity to come a cropper here so watch where you’re walking, day or night. We just about made it to the head of the bog road before resorting to using head torches. I like to get as much use out of night vision as I can. Besides it’s fun to wonder what goes through a motorist’s mind as they notice four head torches bobbing along in the dead of night where there was nothing a moment before! The Military Road marks the welcome end of Section 1 and the easy road and trail-based start of the middle leg. We made quick progress up onto Glendoo Mountain to be greeted by excellent views of the city lights spread before us. The route then descends gradually over soggy ground. It’s not so much bog at this stage that could hamper progress, but waterlogged sections. For the most part there are minor trails that avoid most of these natural hazards as you head down to the col. If visibility allows you should have sight of the red lights of Three Rock over your left shoulder and the white lights of Kippure over your right before heading up the easy climb to Knocknagun. The elaborate granite tor at this little summit looks almost carved and is a perfect spot for a break or to get out of the weather for a while. Ahead of you lies the final easy climb of this section to the mysteriously named Prince William’s Seat or Glencullen Mountain. Mysterious because no one is quite sure about the origin of the name and which top he actually sat on.

Take care to pick up the correct track leaving Prince William’s Seat to regain the Wicklow Way which is followed down to the road at Glencullen. Our night recce ended here leaving only the shortest and final leg for another day. Section 3 The third section takes you up to Fairy Castle for more excellent views of Dublin City to the north as well as the rolling hills of Wicklow to the south. Whatever time you visit the aptly named Fairy Castle the views are magical. Then it’s on to Three Rock before re-joining the Wicklow Way for the final weary kilometres through Kilmacshogue and onto Marlay Park. The first version of Walk The Line took place on 26 June 2011 which was the very day in 1284 the Pied Piper led 130 children from the village of Hamelin and they were never seen again. DWMRT ended up leading almost 300 away that night but while they were battered, bruised and boggy at the finish they were all accounted for. Not everyone had managed all 32km of the challenge but everyone had memories of a Wicklow they hadn’t known existed that would survive longer than any of the blisters! A brief history of the Walk the Line Route One additional aspect DWMRT wanted to add to the Walk the Line experience was the folklore, history and legend of places along the route. Guides on the night regaled their charges with interesting facts like the following as they treaded the county bounds. There was once a tradition amongst parishes called ‘beating the bounds’. As there was often no written record and no maps, elder villagers would take young boys along parish boundaries so they would be able to pass on the details of exactly where boundaries lay. Kippure can be seen from miles from various locations throughout Dublin and Wicklow and is recognisable by its huge television

mast. Kippure is the oldest television transmitter site in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Government Board of Works built an access road to the site in 1959 and by the summer of 1961, the mast was erected. Television trade transmissions followed, consisting of slide views of Ireland and the music ofCount John McCormack. The slopes of Kippure hold the sources of multiple watercourses, including the River Liffey, which rises in the Liffey Head Bog on the western slopes. The area surrounding Kippure is mostly bog land and anyone who has ever walked the area will tell you of the countless peat hags that have to be negotiated. These are the result of turf cutting, and this proved to be a huge commercial interest for locals, especially during “The Emergency”. Locals say that the whole bog is full of ‘dale holes’, which are essentially bottomless pits and probably best described as bog quicksand. Anyone unlucky enough to fall into one will not be coming back out again. Back in the days of the gentry, local men would have to accompany gentlemen on a day’s shooting to ensure they didn’t disappear, or maybe give the odd one a nudge in the wrong direction, depending on how well they were tipped! In the past, people who died by suicide, and therefore were not allowed to be buried in consecrated ground, were often buried in the dale holes. It is said that their ghostly figures can still be seen wandering the bog of a midsummer’s night. The Military Road, which traverses this dark moor land, forms the sole link with civilisation in this region.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011 Construction started on 12 August 1800 and was completed in October 1809. It was built in the wake of the1798 Rebellion to allow the British Army access to insurgents hiding in

found nowadays – a beautiful preservation of our ancient history. Killakee is probably best known for Mount Pelier Hill and the Hell Fire Club. While the Walk the Line route doesn’t actually go to the hill, it travels nearby. A hunting lodge was built here in 1725 using stones that were said to have been taken from a prehistoric passage grave. Shortly after completion, a storm blew the roof off. Local superstition attributed this to the work of the devil, a punishment for interfering with the cairn.

the Wicklow Mountains. It was the first purpose-built road in Ireland, with five barracks along it at Leitrim, Glencree, Laragh, Glenmalure and Aghavannagh.

Later in the 18th Century, Mount Pelier was let to the Hell Fire Club – renowned for debauchery and dealings with the occult. Local legend has it that a stranger arrived at the club on a stormy night and joined the members in a card game.

Glencree was in ancient times a Royal Park almost entirely covered by primeval oak forest. In 1283, Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I (who you might know better as Edward Longshanks from the movie Braveheart), established large timberworks for providing wood for her castle. This resulted in considerable thinning of the Royal Forest. During England’s war with Scotland, the fate of the oak forest was eventually left in the hands of locals because the king had no ranger there to protect it from the local savages! Hence, bog oak can sometimes be

One player dropped his card under the table and when he bent down to pick it up, he noticed that the stranger had a cloven hoof. When he looked back up, the stranger disappeared in a ball of flame. Prince William’s Seat is well known throughout Dublin and Wicklow but what’s not so well known is how it got its name. Originally, the large granite tor was almost certainly known as Cloch na gCon or The Rock of the Hounds, which now gives its name to the hill as a whole, Cloghnagun.

So where and who was Prince William? Well, in 1577, extensive lands around Kiltiernan and Glencullen were bought by Thomas Fitzwilliam. The mound of rock subsequently became known as ‘Fitzwilliam’s Seat’ which was used as “a resting place for gentlemen when fowling on the top” – in other words, somewhere to have a rest out of the wind when the lads were outshooting on the hill! Later on, the ‘Fitz’ was dropped, and it became ‘William’s Seat’. It first appeared as Prince William’s Seat on the Ordnance Survey map in the 19th Century, and it is said that it was called after William, son of King George IV of England who visited in 1821. Across from Glendoo, on the side of the road, lies a huge lump of granite known as O’Connell’s Rock. Daniel O’Connell or ‘The Liberator’ led a huge rally here with people from all over Dublin and Wicklow on 23 July 1823. He often stayed with his cousin in Glencullen House and was very fond of the area. Glencullen House still stands and is currently being restored, hopefully to its former glory. The summit of the Fairy Castle is marked by a stone cairn – the remains of a passage tomb. It is the eastern most of a series of such tombs that stretch across the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains. Theentrance of which can no longer be seen due to the collapse of the edges of the cairn.

Participant Feedback on the Walk the Line event from a few of the participants:

“It's shocking how well-organised everything is.

I've felt completely safe throughout.” - Anonymous Walk the Liner!

“I was delighted to participate in the Walk the Line event last weekend. I am blind and I went along with the assistance of my daughter Aoife, who persuaded me to take part.” - Ronan McGuirk “I want to say that all of the staff on the event from the checking in staff to the marshals on the course were great. Seeing the flags and glow sticks at points along the route showed us how much effort you and your team put in. The food stations were very welcome and when we got in just before 7 the breakfast was tasty too. I honestly can’t fault a single thing about the event, well done to all involved.”- Mark H “Thanks for an incredible experience... had no idea it would be that tough!! so well organised and u guys provided such encouragement and cheerfulness the whole way round. You definitely helped me keep going when the body was shouting to give up!” - Ann O’G “It was an amazing night. I’m a novice walker so wasn’t physically prepared for it so was relieved to get to Marley. It was incredibly well organised and comforting to only have to worry about the next bog hole as opposed to 'where are we going?'” - Andrew M

Walk the Line is now accepting registrations for 2012, visit www.walktheline.ie.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

Thanks to our Walk the Line Participants from every member of the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue team

Almost every volunteer on a mountain rescue team has had that moment where they are standing all alone on a remote mountainside in the middle of the night, struggling to stand against a gale of wind and rain, radio in one hand and a stretcher in the other. Rain dripping down your back, shivering against the cold, you wonder why you bother doing this and if anyone cares. You can’t hear the radio and the stretcher is heavy. If you didn't trust your fellow volunteers, you'd be scared. If you didn't know someone was out there in trouble and waiting for you to help them you'd go straight home to your family.

comfort zone and trusting us to keep them safe was touching. The disappointment on the faces of the few when they had to cut their challenge short, the courage of those overcoming physical limitations, the craic in

On June 25th we were reminded that we're never alone out there. When we dreamed up Walk the Line we felt we would probably be organising a hike for 50 or 60 of our friends and squeezing them for a few quid along the way. We never imagined the overwhelming response to the event would mean that we would have to turn people away. We never realised the event would change the team for the better. We didn’t think we could reach out a touch so many people. We never imagined this event would bring in over €38,000 - the generosity of our friends and supporters has blown away all our expectations and our aspiration of a 4x4 ambulance for Wicklow is a lot closer to realisation. But more important than any money raised was witnessing that so many people were willing to put themselves on the line for us when we needed them. Walking the line on July 25th was always supposed to be a challenge for any participant. The mist and the bog, the darkness and the distance all make this an event that not everyone can take on. That so many people were with us throughout the night, outside of their

duty of care to the 300 people we were about to spread over 32km of wild, mountainous terrain meant that team resources were stretched to the limit. Mountain Rescue is traditionally a community organisation – we live in the community we operate in, we serve the larger community of outdoor enthusiasts and we support the growing industry which supplies training and equipment to those who love the mountains. It shouldn’t be surprising that so many from these communities volunteered their support and services to facilitate this event – from retired team members to professional guides, from busdrivers to generous companies such as the Great Outdoors, from friends and family to complete strangers who offered to spend a cold night on the hill marshalling the route. Nonetheless we found ourselves constantly surprised at the generosity of the many people who made this event possible and we’d like to thank them all sincerely for their help. Without the communities that support us, we wouldn’t have a purpose or the ability to do what we love to do. We look forward to inviting you to view our new 4x4 ambulance whenever we complete the refitting. We look forward to delivering our first patient safely to hospital in it. We look forward to our next callout, knowing that so many of you know what it’s like to be out on that mountain at night and will be there along with us. We look forward to meeting you all again in 2012 and once again thank you sincerely for your support and generosity.

the groups, the speed of the runners, the exhausted joy of the many who enjoyed a well-earned breakfast in Marlay Park meant so much to team members that we don’t need to debate about whether we’re doing this again next year – we couldn’t not run it. The scale of our ambitious route, our determination to do it the right way and our

Hundreds of photos from the event are on Facebook (you can see them without having a Facebook account). Yours in sport and rescue Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team

Walk the Line is now accepting registrations for 2012, visit www.walktheline.ie.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

DEFENDER 110 TRANSFOMRATION The new “Wicklow MR3” ready to leave the workshop where it was fitted out. It wasn’t long before it was involved in its first callout near Djouce.

Base Vehicle The base vehicle for our new Mountain Rescue stretcher capable 4x4 is a standard Land Rover Defender 110 station wagon. We got ours from Spirit Motors in Sandyford.

New stretcher capable 4x4 by Brian O’Doherty

As winter arrived in Wicklow in late November, Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team was delighted to announce that they have secured funding for two new 4x4 rescue vehicles for use in the Dublin and Wicklow hills.

Fitting the toys The standard vehicle is tough and practical but our requirements are pretty special. We’ve fitted a heavy duty roof rack for carrying a spare tyre, recovery equipment and extra kit, additional lighting for off-road use and tree sliders under the doors to protect the vehicle in the tight Wicklow forests! A lot of the work is being done by Paul in Rovercraft, a team member and land rover specialist.

A significant part of the funding comes in the shape of a €45,000 grant from the National Lottery which was approved by Department of Health Minister James O’Reilly. Andrew Doyle, Fine Gael TD in Wicklow, a long term supporter of the work of mountain rescue in Wicklow, had this to say about the good news: “This shows a genuine commitment and appreciation on the Governments part to acknowledge the vital work that is being carried out on a daily basis by those who volunteer on Mountain Rescue teams to assist those in need.” The other main source of funds was from the fantastic fundraising efforts of our Walk The Line Participants who raised €38,000. The level of support and generosity from participants and the local community was overwhelming and the event will be run again in June 2012.

Wiring the lights The next step is to rip out the entire interior and start wiring radios, lights and sirens as well as additional power points.

DWMR Team Leader, Chris England, said “The team is hugely grateful to the National Lottery Good Causes fund. Combined with the fantastic local fundraising efforts of our Walk the Line participants the team is now in the lucky position to be able to secure these vehicles. This is just in time for the busy winter rescue period.”

The two sources of funding will now be used to purchase two rescue vehicles for use in the Dublin and Wicklow hills. The team has already purchased the first, a Land Rover Defender 110, a vehicle which has been proven again and again in a Mountain Rescue role throughout Ireland and the UK. This vehicle is now kitted out with specialist rescue equipment, radios, appropriate livery and fittings to secure a casualty on a stretcher. This means the team will now be able to carry a casualty on a stretcher from remote mountain tracks and upland areas during adverse weather conditions. A final decision on the specification of the second new vehicle will be made shortly and it is hoped to have this in place in the New Year, ready to serve the local and mountaineering communities that helped to fund raise for it. These vehicles represent a greatly enhanced operational capability for the team. This comes at a time when the team is experiencing a record number of incidents as interest in outdoor pursuits continues to soar and unpredictable weather patterns continue to make such pursuits challenging. In the last five years alone the number of callouts has nearly doubled. The purchase demonstrates the high level of support the team continues to enjoy as well as a commitment on behalf of the team to continue to provide an excellent and professional service to the community.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

Probationary Diary 2011 by Michelle Clarke, Probationary Member

My interest in mountain rescue all began with an article I noticed in Outsider magazine back in Jan‘11. There was an advert for new recruits for the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue training program and I was eager to join. The following diary captures my experiences to date. It covers tips for successfully applying to the probationary program. A first-hand account is provided of the training involved. It also provides an insight into the best part of mountain rescue which is of course the personal reward involved in rescue incidents. Applying to join the team Last winter I attendedthe rescue open evening down in Roundwood. I highly recommend this introduction if you think mountain rescue volunteering is for you. Soon after submitting my application & initial paper assessment I was delighted to find out I had been selected to participate in a full day of fitness and skills assessment out on Lugnaquilla.

team, I convinced myself that all the challenges involved would simply make the experience all the more rewarding in the end. I was almost as excited as a lottery winner when I found out a few weeks later that I’d made the final crew! Training and building skills as a probationary member The months that followedthe assessment involved an intensive skills program to train up as capable search and rescue volunteer. The first highlight from that period on the team was the professionally run search and rescue training that I’ve been lucky enough to be exposed to. This has been both on land and helicopter-based. The picture above captures the training scenario where a teammate& I were winched

This included challenging ourselves with both regular mountain running and rock climbing to really push individual fitness levels in the team to peak standards. This training culminated with the 129km Wicklow Way Relay team challenge That took an unexpected turn when one of our very own team was actually rescued as part of the event (you can read all about that on page ‘20’of this report!). From a personal perspective I also undertook a successful summit attempt of Kilimanjaro (the highest free standing mountain in the world) and completed my first marathon in Berlin in the past year. While neither of these challenges were with the rescue team, I did discover during the year that highcaliber of outdoor folk on the team inspired me to get out and push myown personal boundaries.

As luck would have it the conditions on the assessment day on Lug turned out to be downright abysmal. Visibility was minimal and a dense fog enveloped the national park. My heart sank as I realized the regular map features were not visible to help form triangulations of our location out on Leinster’s highest peak. Given that I could see less than a few meters ahead, I had no choice but to rely on pacing combined with time estimations calculated on Naismith’s rule to ensure I was successfully getting to the various spot heights and features throughout the day.

training that myself and team members have been undertaking.

for the first time by the Irish coastguard as part of heli-operations training. This and the crag (rock & rope) work are definitely the more adventure filled side to mountain rescue and a huge amount of fun to take part in.

The reality of the challenges involved in mountain rescue struck home after we had been hiking over steep terrain for many hours. As we tried to negotiate our way down a particularly steep valley-side, the assessor brutally took that opportunity to remind me that in real rescue operations we would also be carrying rescue kit, ropes and a casualty on a stretcher as well.

On the more serious side of things all the recruits have been going through search and rescue operations, radio operations, patient packaging and theessential Remote Emergency Care training to ensure that as a first responder we have all of the skills and training needed competently assist in an emergency.

It was at that moment that I really started to reconsider whether I was cut out for the

The second training-related highlight from the past year has been the extensive fitness

The final big highlight from a training perspective was experiencing first-hand how the team rose to the challenge of bridging the funding gap when recessionary cuts in government funding severely threatened team finances. The rescue team addressed this by running a hugely successful sponsored 32 km night-hike for over 300 local hikers. Assisting on incidents Finally by far the best part of the year has been all the callouts that I’ve been lucky enough to assist on. My first major callout involved a stretcher carryout of young woman who had badly injured her leg on the Spinc in Glendalough.3 full team members& I had all just gotten in the car to depart for an intensive weekend of rescue rigging training in Doolinwhen we simultaneously all received texts that an

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011 incident had occurred. Given that we were all packed up in the car with our rescue gearat hand we were ideally positioned for a fast response. So we turned the car around on the road headed for Glendalough.

We were first party apart from the medic on scene to respond and it was a superb way to kick off my mountain rescue voluntary career. I got to assist with the end to end patient packaging and carryout of a casualty. Four hours later when the lady as safely back down to the awaiting ambulance we headed to Clare for a very educational weekend of learning the ropes in Doolin.

Glenmacnass waterfall. Night had descended and their condition was deteriorating rapidly. My role that night was to hike in with additional food, water and shelter supplies. I participated in a human belay to assist rescuers across the flooded river using ropes. By 7am the next morning the supplies had been dropped and casualties were being assisted to safety I made the journey back home to a quick shower and coffee and in to the office to my day job. The final most memorable incident was on Halloween night when a dad and his 2 sons got lost coming down off Lugnaquilla.

The next major highlight was after a full weekend of rescue training a callout alert was raised late evening during the bad flooding in October.

My role on the night was as navigator directing the driver of the rescue vehicle while we traversed through fire-tracks in local dark forests attempting locate the casualties.

After careful driving to the incident scene through precarious driving conditions of very wet and windy weather on the dark Wicklow roads we arrived on site to be informed that 11 hikers had become trapped behind the

As luck would have we were closest to casualtieswhen they were located after a 5 hour search so we got the heroic role ofdriving them back down safely to rescue

18 base just after 2am at night. My backpack just happened to be stock with lots of jellies and sweets to keep me going on the hills, and it was just super to see the delighted faces of the 2 young kids tucking into them after their 13 hour ordeal on the hillside. As you can probably tell by now from this diary, 2011was a yearof amazing adventures getting to know a friendly and relaxed team of extraordinary professionals. Along with both their regular day-jobs and their rescue commitments on the team, these folks are dedicating a stunning amount of time and energy to helping new recruits learn the skills necessary to find, protect & rescue casualties on the hills of Dublin &Wicklow. I am hugely excited about challenges that lie in the year ahead and have my finger’s crossed that I’ll make it through to full team member in 2012! For folks who are interested in joining the 2012 probationary program please email recruitment@dwmrt.ie

Recruitment 2012 – Do you have what it takes? by David Butler (New Recruits Leader)

Following a very successful recruitment campaign in 2011, the team are planning on recruiting again in 2012.The team are reviewing entry requirements this year with a view to making some small changes to the selection and recruitment process which will make the initial assessment a little more challenging! As in previous years we will be organising an open night in due course to provide an insight into team operations and for potential applicants to meet team

members and find out a bitmore about the team and what we do. Following the initial application, selected applicants will be invited to participate in a daytime and night navigation assessment which will review navigation skills, fitness, equipment and knowledge of the Wicklow Mountains. Successful candidates will then be invited onto the team probationary training programme where they will be trained in mountain rescue skills and undergo

continuous assessment over a minimum of 12 months. After a final assessment, probationary members will then be proposed for full team membership. Recruitment is likely to be advertised in Summer/Autumn 2012, so for interested applicants please sign up to our Facebook page and keep an eye on outdoor magazines and the team website for application detail.

ANNUAL REPORT:DUBLIN WICKLOW MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM

Annual Report 2011

Mountain rescue on the run (for fun!) by Brendan Lawlor

Mountain rescuers need to be fit – carrying stretchers, ropes and other equipment up mountains is strenuous work and our team encourages all our members to keep themselves in good hill fitness.

captains Dave Butler and Brendan Lawlor pushing the fitness limits up every week.

The last two years has seen a growing group of our members take to the somewhat eccentric activity of Mountain Running. This activity is organised by the Irish Mountain Running Association and a number of our team members have been involved for many years.

Several of the team also took part in the Leinster League races on Wednesday nights. On two occasions the race became a team callout as athletes fell and sustained ankle injuries.

One of the key races in the mountain running calendar is the Wicklow Way Relay where teams of 8 runners tackle 120km of this route in relay legs. The legs vary in distance and difficulty so both novice and experienced team members could take part. We had two teams this year and organised weekly training sessions at Djouce Forest with team

“Callout 31”

The day of the Wicklow Way Relay race itself was most eventful – we had eighteen team members taking part in out day-glo orange tops sponsored by the Great Outdoors. Just

people, why would I want to run up a mountain?

By Josephine Madden

When I joined the DWMRT as a probationary member this year, I didn’t image I’d become a statistic, “Callout 31”. It all started back in March sometime, I’d just been accepted onto the team as a probationary member and the call was put out for people interested in doing the Wicklow Way Relay. I’d never heard of the Wicklow Way Relay before, and I wasn’t fully sure what it entailed but I put my name forward, I thought it’d be a great opportunity to get to know the team, improve my fitness and hopefully have a bit of fun. And so reality kicked-in, I was given Leg 4 (one of the easier Legs) 10km from Oldbridge to Glendalough. My running experience to this point included some cross-country, but mostly road-running on nice flat surfaces with maybe a little hill along the way. I suddenly realised that what I had signed-up for bordered on mountain running, which at that point I considered was only for crazy

But I embraced the challenge and joined the Monday night runs at Earls Drive and next thing I know I’m running in the IMRA Leinster League Wednesday night races, and loving it. So after many weeks of training and recce’s finally it was Relay Day. We had 2 teams competing, so there was a bit of healthy rivalry and the craic was good on the day. The weather was beautiful and I really thought there was nothing that could go wrong; all I had to do was give it my best, finish my leg in a half-decent time and handover to Gareth at the start of Leg 5. But alas it was not to be. I’ll be honest, as I was running down the trail through Brockagh Forest my thoughts were on the hand-over

outside Glendalough one of our own runners sustained a leg injury necessitating a further team callout and a trip to A and E for our unlucky colleague -- well we never said it was easy! Thankfully the ankle was sprained and healed up quickly and our colleague is back running with us again. Despite this setback, both teams finished in very respectable times and we plan to be back again in 2012 for this fantastic race. Our team leader is also a bit of a fitness nut, with the Ironman Triathlon being his thing. This involves a 2 mile swim, followed by a 120 mile cycle and then to top it off a 26 mile marathon run – daft or what?!Anyhow, Chris England has done two of them and is planning more for 2012 - fair play to him.

point, and in this lapse of concentration I heard a pop as I saw my foot twist to an unnatural angle with my leg. I refused to believe I had done anything that bad and tried to keep going, but I thought I was going to get sick so I had to lie down. The next runner alerted the stewards at the handover point (which was probably about .5km away), and next thing I know I’m “Callout 31” In hind-sight it was actually great to have experienced life on the “other side”; the professionalism of everyone on the team really gives the casualty a great sense of trust in what is happening to them. It was a well oiled machine which ran extremely smoothly, and even when I was in the stretcher I was relaxed as I had the utmost confidence that I was the number one priority of everyone involved.......but maybe the Entonox helped a little. I’m still embarrassed by it all, but I just want to say a big thank you to everyone involved, but especially Michelle who followed to me to St Vincent’s and got me safely home. I managed to do a lot of damage to my ankle but thankfully I’m fully recovered. I now really have a true appreciation of what happens on both sides of a rescue.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

“The Mega Callout” by Michael Kaliszer (Casualty) & Brian O’ Doherty (Rescuer)

The following article documents the rescue which now has infamously become known as the mega callout where 11 local hikers were rescued after bad flooding in October. It is told from 2 perspectives, firstly from the rescuer (Brian)’s perspective and then from the casualty (Michael)’e perspective. Brian: We had been training all day on the steep ground near Barravore since early on Sunday morning. It had been raining all day and everyone and everything was wet. We had an incident to deal with in the afternoon as well - a family were caught out by the bad weather and needed our assistance to safely make it back their car. It was quickly dealt with but a good example of how the weather can make a simple and short hike much more complicated. Michael: The set route was Tonelagee, Brockaghs, Paddock Hill, and Scarr. Concerned at the state of the river and the weather forecast, we reasoned that crossing the river at the end of the hike we could afford to get seriously soaked. By the time we arrived at the intended crossing point opposite the CP the river water level had risen and the crossing was deemed too dangerous to attempt, and so we set off upstream to seek another. The time was roughly.4.45. Commonly used crossing points where the river is usually wide and shallow were considered but also rejected as too dangerous at this time, and so the upstream trek continued as light faded. Our group had only one torch. As we stumbled along in darkness, we heard the gushing torrent below us which we could barely see. We had no shelter and were getting cold. It was clear that the situation was critical, movement forth or back was dangerous and we wouldn’t be able to survive the night in the open without high risk of hypothermia. And so at about 7.30 Anne called the mountain rescue. Brian: Most team members were barely home when we received a call for a second incident. A group of eleven were trapped on

the wrong side of a river. I grabbed some dry clothes and headed to the team van which is kept in Templeogue for easy access to east and west Wicklow. I met two colleagues there and together we drove up over the Sally Gap to an area known locally as the Oasis. The weather was appalling as were crossing the Sally Gap and the flashing blue lights on the van created a disorientating strobe effect as they bounced off the mist and rain. Once we reached the meeting spot, we were out in the rain again, getting ready and organising gear and hill party teams. The team van was sent up to high ground about a kilometre along the road in order to facilitate radio communications. The wind and the rain were so bad we had to shout into each other's ears in order to communicate. We quickly got geared up and set off on foot across the mountain. Michael: Amazingly the first mountain rescuer, greeted by a loud cheer, got to us by 10 followed by the advance party some minutes later. Our relief was palpable. They brought food and equipment galore and in no time they got us sheltered, warm, and fed. I was handed a two person kisu and shared it with Milo and Brendan from MR who helped me into a silver survival bag. Milo got a bag and extra clothing. We got hot drinks and food. Brian: Our hill party arrived at this point – we had taken a route higher upstream in order to cross the rivers which took a while. It had been a long day and I was a carrying a lot of rescue gear, had ran out of water and my head torch was giving out, making it difficult to walk without tripping; I was happy to get there so and get some food and water on board. Our medic, Gen, quickly assessed each of the casualties and our hill party got cosy under a kisu and waited for further instruction. Michael: To cope with taking out 11 people a second group of rescuers arrived at midnight.

20 However because of the deteriorating weather the MR decided we’d stay put till first light and sure enough we could feel the rain and hailstones pelting the kisu and the wind threatening to tear it from beneath our bottoms. But I was quite warm and cosy inside at that stage and quite happy to stay for a while. Brian: More rescuers arrived with food and hot drinks which were very welcome in our small plastic shelter jammed full of wet rescue volunteers. There was some talk of the Coastguard helicopter arriving at first light to airlift the casualties – we could hear nothing over the hailstone and wind so we doubted it would be possible. Michael: I asked Brendan how they got to us so quickly and how and where they crossed the river. ‘Just about here and we jumped’. Yes.., I see.., I said. But it was true, as I was to discover shortly. ‘So we’ll have to jump too, right? ‘ ‘Oh no, there will be ropes, maybe ladders..’ Mhmm. Brian: In the end the weather cleared dramatically at about 4.30am. The casualties were in great spirits after their midnight feast of coffee and sandwiches and we were eager to get them all to safety. We decided to move and quickly got all of the casualties up. Michael: As I set off I saw not twenty feet away a cluster of torches to which we headed. It was the crossing point over Fall Brook. We had been so close! It was at most a metre across and with good rock platforms for takeoff and landing and wouldn’t be a serious obstacle in normal conditions. Yet it was intimidating in the dark with the gushing brown water tearing through the gap and then dropping sharply. But there was a helpful hand on each side and in addition a stretched rope between two human anchors provided a reassuring handrail. It was the same story with White Brook, then a third easy mini torrent requiring no assistance and we were across. Phew! Was that IT? Brian: I accompanied two of the older casualties. Both slipped and fell a few times on the rough ground but both kept walking and remained cheerful and upbeat throughout. It was very calm, like someone had turned off all the background noise.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011 Michael: We headed uphill through the trees for a while, levelled off, and joined the long track through the forest beneath Carigshouk to the road at O 103 045. The track wasn’t the best, but who cared! Brian: Halfway out we met with some more rescuers who had just arrived. They were able to take some of our gear and lighten our load – the banter and the mood improved immensely as we got closer to base. Michael: It was actually quite pleasant walking through the forest at night chatting

away (though carefully feet watching), with the occasional burst of radio chat among the rescuers cross checking numbers and locations. After about two and bit hours we reached the road. What a sight! Three 4+4’s brightly lettered with flashing amber and blue lights enhanced the realization of the scale of the operation we triggered off. Brian: Base was the usual organised chaos with much more chaos than normal – there were volunteers from the Mournes Mountain Rescue Team, a large HSE ambulance crew

21 and loads of other people milling around. All of our casualties were assessed and all were able to make their own way home. Michael: It was then about 8 and I was home at ten. I cannot express my gratitude and admiration of the MRRs strongly enough, not just for their flawless professionalism, self evident throughout the night, but also for their dedication and constant attention and concern for their charges, and their good humour.

Winners the prestigious 2011 Cathaoirleach award! Given that 2011 was the European Year of Volunteering the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council choose to honourthe Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue team with 2011 Cathaoirleach’s Award.

volunteers to see their dedication and commitment get this type of recognition.

This annual award commends those who act as exemplary role models and who have given special service to their community.

“I would like to pay tribute to the Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team for their dedicated work in contributing their time and expertise to helping people in need of assistance on mountains and hills.”

The team was delighted to accept the award and it was a great boost to morale forour

Barking mad! by Declan Cunningham

Two members of Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team were doing a recce for an upcoming training exercise in the St. Kevin’s Bed area of the upper lake in Glendalough when they were surprised by growling noises. Initially they thought the sound was just carrying across the lake until they spotted a very forlorn looking dog on a ledge at the waters edge. The wayward pooch had been on the missing list for four days. Its owners were out walking the Spink and Jaffa, as the dog is called, chased a goat down one of the gullies. They

On presenting the award County Councillor Lettie McCarty of had the following to say:

had reported the dog as missing to Park staff but weren’t holding out too much hope. Only months before the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team had to rescue a Jack Russell from the gulleys below the Spink. On that occasion members had to abseil 150m into the gulley to the stricken pup. Who says only cats have nine lives? When the Dublin Wicklow rescuers informed the park staff that they had found a dog the owners were contacted. Amazingly the dog was in good shape after it’s 200m tumble and was very wary of its would be rescuers. After calming the dog a bit and bribing it with chocolate they managed to get it into a rucksack for the climb back out. The rescuers and the now very happy dog were met by extremely grateful owners back

on safer ground. Owners would do well to heed the message that dogs should be kept on a lead on the Spink especially but also in any area of parkland or where encounters with wildlife are likely. Jaffa was one dog who had definitely had it’s day but at least this tale had a happy ending!

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

Person of the Year 2011 by David Williams, Team Chairman

Gen Ward is pictured here being awarded the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team 2011 Person of Year. Firstly we selected her for the award for the energy, leadership and commitment she applied to the Walk the Line event. Gen was instrumental in making the event such a great success. Secondly it was for the tenacious drive she applied when ensuring grants and fundraising for the team was followed through. This was critical to the success of the team being adequately funded when it came to major purchases such as the recent rescue vehicle acquisition. Ask any member of the team and they will heartily agree that this award could not have gone to a more deserving person.

Finally, a third great reason why Gen is such a strong asset to the Dublin Wicklow mountain rescue team is due to the abundance of strong skills she consistently demonstrates on callouts. Throughout the year this translated into her assisting in a record number of incidents alongside her husband Kenny Roberts who is also a long standing team member. She leverages her excellent medical skills and qualifications to ensure she provides all our casualties with expert care.

Thanks Gen for your fantastic work all year!” – David Williams, Team Chairman.

Annual Dinner 2011 by Brian O’Doherty

A lot of the events at the annual dinner will be forever shrouded in secrecy, mostly to preserve the reputation and good-standing of our membership in the community! A number of key moments should be mentioned – the most important is that for many of us it was an opportunity to bring along our partners and introduce them to our team members and their partners. A lot of us rely on our families to take care of normal business when we go running around the hills on training or callouts and we’re very grateful for their support. We also had some friends from Calder Valley Rescue Team join us for dinner – this gave us

“Gen was the obvious choice for 2011. The team could not think of a more deserving volunteer for this award. Her professionalism, dedication and drive are renowned among her peers.

the opportunity to cement the bond between the two teams We also had our local member of parliament along as our guest – Andrew Doyle TD. Andrew is a local farmer as well as a legislator and has been a long term supporter of the team and the work done by mountain rescue in Wicklow. As a token of our gratitude for his support we presented Andrew with a team plaque.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

Calling out Mountain Rescue; a Call-out Officers perspective. by Ed Fagan

I’ve had the privilege of being a Call-Out Officer for the Dublin / Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team for many years. The Callout Officer is the Guy or Gal on our team that takes the initial information about an incident and then manages the initial response to the incident. If you’re in need of Mountain Rescue assistance the drill is to dial 999 or 112 and ask for Mountain Rescue. The operator should put you through to the nearest Garda control centre. They will take your initial message and then notify the nearest Mountain Rescue team via Pagers or a group SMS text. When I receive a SMS message from the Gardai, I will make contact with the Garda requesting Mountain Rescue to gather details of the incident; I may also request a Garda presence on-scene depending on the circumstances. My next step is usually to contact the Informant directly to gather a more detailed picture of what’s going on. Often an extra few moments spent ensuring that I fully understand where they are and what’s going on can save valuable time during the Search or Rescue phase of the operation. It is also vital to re-assure the Informant that we are responding and to ensure they are aware that it may take us some time to get to their location.

If the incident is serious such as a fallen Climber or cardiac arrest, I will go straight to the Coastguard and request the tasking of the Coastguard rescue helicopter based in Dublin Airport (Call sign Rescue 116) before alerting the team. If we’re lucky the Coastguard helicopter may be able to complete a Rescue while the team is making its way to an incident. However, in the majority of cases both team members on the ground and a helicopter will be required. The team will always respond if a helicopter is tasked as the helicopter may not be able to complete the mission for many reasons including local severe weather, it could encounter technical difficulties or it could be re-tasked to a more serious incident. Once I have a clear picture of what’s going on I’ll quickly liaise with my Counter-part on the “Glen” team and our Team Leader to devise an appropriate response. (It may also be the case that the “Glen” Callout Officer will have spoken to the Informant before me and they are calling me to agree a response.) The response may vary from dispatching a vehicle and a few local team members to a full callout of all available team members (Again utilising our group SMS system.) When we go to full Callout, the Callout Officer becomes a very busy one-person callcentre typically utilising my team and personal mobile phones, a land-line and a

Swiftwater Technicians Course by Dave Cleary

With the recent increase in water related incidents in DWMRT’s area of operations coupled with the essential practice of both rescuer and casualty safety, two teammembers underwent and successfully completed Rescue 3 Europe’s Swift Water& Flood Rescue Technicians Course in mid December.

The course is based on the philosophy of selfprotection and application of low to high risk solutions. The course provides rescuers with the fundamentals of survival in moving water and is recommended for anyone who may be called upon to effect in-water rescues. Students gain knowledge in hydrology and river classifications, size-up, site control and scene management. Practical skills include

computer if one is available. If I’m at home my kitchen table will become covered with maps, Teenagers will be banished from the family computer and Wife to Mother in Law phone calls cut short. There is much work to be done, a suitable Rescue base location needs to be decided, ideally with good phone and radio communications, I need to ensure that I have Team Drivers to take our vehicles to the incident and regular communications needs to be kept up with the informant and any other Emergency services responding, I need to record which team members are responding to enable the Incident Management team to commence planning once Rescue base becomes established. The job is immensely satisfying; there is a real feeling of making a difference to someone in need. Although when a Garda message comes through at 2am these thoughts are not the first ones that come to mind. - Be Careful out there!

self-rescue, swift water swimming and the fundamentals of shore, boat and in-water rescues. Additionally students are introduced to the basics of boat handling and the fundamentals of rope rescue, although, very specific to the swift water environment and largely dissimilar to techniques to which Mountain Rescue would be normally accustomed. The course was conducted in various locations on the Glenmacnass, Avonmore and Glendasan rivers in Wicklow. Training sites were carefully selected to augment specific skills. Water temperatures remained a constant however and made for a challenging if not a motivating experience.

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in photos!

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The year in photos continued...

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in photos continuedâ&#x20AC;Ś

All photographs were taken by team members on the hills or during callouts 2011

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in photos continuedâ&#x20AC;Ś

All photographs were taken by team members on the hills or during callouts 2011

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in photos continuedâ&#x20AC;Ś

All photographs were taken by team members on the hills or during callouts 2011

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in photos continued!

All photographs were taken by team members on the hills or during callouts 2011

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in updates!

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in updates continued…

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in updates continued…

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

The year in updates continued…

ANNUAL REPORT:DWMRT ANNUAL REPORT |2011

Thanks to all our 2011 Supporters! From each Member of the Team

The Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue team could not survive without the generous donations and fundraising from the public and businesses around the Dublin and Wicklow area. All the folks below helped in some way towards supporting the team throughout 2011. Massive thanks from the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team to:                             

Action Photography (http://actionphotography.ie/) Anderco (http://www.anderco.ie/) Arqiva (http://www.arqiva.com/) Blue Pearl Media (http://www.bluepearlmedia.co.uk/home ) Blueprint in Stillorgan (www.blueprint.ie) Charles Camping (http://www.charlescamping.ie/ ) Coillte (http://www.coillte.ie/ ) Cuisine De France (www.cuisinedefrance.ie) Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (http://www.dlrcoco.ie/parks/marlay_information.html ) EastWest Mapping (www.eastwestmapping.ie) First Aid for Life (http://www.firstaidforlife.ie/) Fyffes (http://www.fyffes.com/home.aspx ) Honda (http://www.honda.ie/contentv3/ ) Industrial Safety and Rescue Techniques (http://isrt.ie/) Kelloggs (http://www.kelloggs.ie/ ) Larch Hill Scouting Ireland (http://www.larchhill.org/ ) Lough Dan House (http://www.loughdanhouse.com/ ) Maddens Bridge Bar (www.maddensbridgebar.com) Microsoft (www.microsoft.com/ireland/community) National Lottery (www.lottery.ie/en/Good-Causes-and-Winners/Good-Causes) Rovercraft (http://www.rovercraft.ie/) Scientific Safety and Health (http://www.scientificsafety.com/ ) Simply Mountains (http://www.simplymountains.com/ ) Spirit Motor Group (http://www.spiritmotorgroup.ie) The Great Outdoors (http://www.greatoutdoors.ie/) Tetra Ireland (http://www.tetraireland.ie/) This Water (http://www.thiswater.co.uk/) Viewranger (www.viewranger.com) Xtreme.ie (http://www.xtreme.ie/ ) IBM (http://www.ibm.com/ie/en/)

We would also like to thank the many people who have made donations over the past year. Your support is appreciated and we are very grateful for your trust in us. The following list is a selection of some of the people who have been able to make a donation – please accept our apologies if we’ve missed you out.         

Trinity Climbing Club Bren Whelan - Winter Talk Clondalkin Rugby Club - In connection with Garda Ciaran Jones Countrywide Hillwalkers Assoc Na Coisithe Family Ramblers Rainbow Hillwalking Club Irish Christian Hillwalking Club Wayfarers Association National Assoc of Regional Game Councils Compensation Fund

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CIE Hillwalkers Marley Hillwalking HF Walking Club Maynooth Walking Club Irish Mountain Running Association The Irish Ramblers The Trekkers Mountaineering Club Lung Gompas Walking Club Dublin Walking Club Stillorgan Girl Guides

ANNUAL REPORT:DUBLIN WICKLOW MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM

Annual Report 2011

Over the years, the Great Outdoors has constantly supported the team in our efforts to provide a professional mountain rescue team on a voluntary basis. The Great Outdoors, being outdoor equipment specialists, have regularly provided the team with expert advice and arranged for a sponsorship deal through the shop for the team outdoor clothing. They have help to produce a safety leaflet and were fully come on board in the development of our website. Most recently in 2011 they were a tremendous support as the main sponsor of our Walk the Line event. Thanks a million guys –your support is invaluable to the Team!

ABOUT THE GREAT OUTDOORS Address: Great Outdoors, Chatham Street, Dublin 2, Republic Of Ireland.

Email: info@greatoutdoors.ie

Phone: 01 679 4293 Website: www.greatoutdoors.ie

To contact Mountain Rescue in an Emergency      

Dial 112 / 999 from any telephone and ask for Mountain Rescue. The Garda (Police) controller will ask your location and the nature of the incident. Provide your telephone number and if possible the grid reference for the location. Stay in a place where you can receive a signal on your phone. A Mountain Rescue Callout Officer will contact you directly for more information. The Callout Officer will then deploy the rescue team to the incident location.