Galway Mountain Rescue Team

Thanks Galway

GMRT would like to thank the people of Galway for their generosity at our recent flag day. This year we raised €4824.50 from our collection on Shop Street and the Galway Shopping Centre. The genorosity and support is especially appriciated given the current economic climate. 

We also would like to thank the NUI Galway mountaineering club who helped out on the day.

Annual Flag Day

Galway Mountain Rescue Team (GMRT) will be on the streets of Galway City this coming Saturday, the 5th of November, for our annual fundraising bucket collection. Team members shall be stationed on Shop Street and at the Headford Shopping Centre throughout the day.

According to Ronan Concannon, Team Leader, it takes approximately €30,000 per year to run the team. This money is required to cover costs such as insurance, transport and rescue/safety equipment. Much of this has to be raised by the team itself and very often members have to cover their own costs associated with callouts and training. 'Our annual bucket collection is hugely important to us in terms of fundraising and we get a fantastic response from the people of Galway every year', said Ronan.

GMRT is responsible for providing a search and rescue service in the upland and remote areas of Counties Galway and Clare . In addition the team also respond to requests for assistance in lowland missing persons searches. This service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is completely free of charge. The team currently comprises of 34 members and is entirely voluntary. We've had a busy year and have already responded to 15 call outs since January  2011. In the case of an emergency, we are contacted via the gardai.
So, if you are about town on Saturday next, watch out for our members - we'll be hard to miss decked out in our very attractive high-visibility jackets! Also, for anybody interested in joining GMRT, we will be recruiting new members early in 2012. For more information on this and the team in general, please visit our website  (www.gmrt.ie). With regards to a take home safety message, please remember to stay safe in the mountains.

Galway Mountain Rescue Team urges hillwalkers to be prepared

Galway Mountain Rescue is urging all hillwalkers and climbers heading to Conemara in the coming weeks to plan ahead and carry appropriate supplies. The team responded to two emergency calls in the last week of September and worked through the night on both occasions to bring stranded hikers to safety. On both occasions rapidly deteriorating weather conditions played a major role in the difficulties leading to the need for rescue. More...

GMRT on Connamara Community Radio

Team Member Liam Aspell will be interviewed this Thursday (oct 13th) between 7 and 7.15 on Connemara community radio. Tune in at www.connemarafm.com

GMRT on Film!

Rescue me is a new Irish short film following two of the team members, Jarleth Folan and his pet rescue dog Hugo and shows how the bond between a man and his dog can ultimately save a life. It is being shown at the Kerry Film Festival on the 4th November. Hugo and Jarleth, are following a trend of GMRT on film set by Liam on TG4 last year.

Thanks to our families

GMRT said a big thank you to our families for being so supportive of our members yesterday (2/10/2011) with a Family Day at the Athenry Heritage Center. Archery, Medieval Costumes and stories were the order of the day. A great time was had by all.