The Irish Red Cross have developed specialist search and rescue teams to assist people missing, injured or in other difficulty on mountains and lakes.
These specially trained volunteers are supported by our other services as required, and are a trusted auxiliary to agencies such as the Coastguard, the HSE and An Garda Siochána.
Lifeboats
The Irish Red Cross has two lifeboats serving Lough Corrib and Lough Mask. Our D-class lifeboat and Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) are manned entirely by volunteers and are an invaluable auxiliary to the local emergency services.
Searches
Irish Red Cross volunteers are regularly asked to assist other services in major lowland searches for missing people.
These volunteers frequently give freely of their time and expertise participating in searches on foot and providing first aid when needed.
Mountain Rescue
The Irish Red Cross has one specialist mountain rescue team, Glen of Imaal, Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team.
The team provide a 24-hour on-call service for those lost or injured in county Wicklow. They also assist elsewhere in Ireland when major searches are underway.
• Air crash response in remote environments
• Severe weather support (snow, storm and flood)
• Missing person search in non-mountain environments
The lifeboat and mountain rescue services can be contacted through the emergency services operator on 999 or 112.
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