THE dedicated volunteers of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team celebrated the organisation’s 50th anniversary at the weekend and, to mark the occasion, they hosted an open day at the rescue station on the grounds of Killarney Garda Station.
The unit was formed at Easter 1966 following a tragic holiday period in Kerry when within a few days, a student from UCD and a teenage member of an English school party were killed in separate incidents on Carrauntoohil.
Early members included Paddy O’Callaghan, Stan Brick, Gearóid O’Sullivan, Richard Morrison, Terence Casey and John McGuire.
Although a lack of funding and equipment has always been a problem, the efforts that team members have put in over the years have gradually built up resources and in 1979 the team acquired its first ambulance.
In recent times the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team came under the remit of the Irish Coast Guard who now provide some of the annual running costs, the remainder comprised of a grant from Kerry County Council and the considerable fundraising efforts and generous donations of private individuals and community groups.
Pictures: Valerie O’Sullivan. Click on individual images for information
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