THE Mourne Mountain Rescue Team is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Formed in 1962, the volunteer team has played an influential role in mountain rescue in the Mournes and over the past five decades has assisted around 5,000 people.
The team was the first to be formed in Ireland and mountain rescue has certainly come a long way from the days when members of climbing clubs strapped casualties to wooden doors and metal gates to get them off the mountain.
While there was a fairly informal approach to mountain rescue before the Mourne team was formed, things changed dramatically with the introduction of a professional approach to a service which has helped save many lives over the years.
One of the team’s longest serving members said while the approach to mountain rescue many years ago was “primitive,” what people did worked and ensured casualties were not left stranded.
Mr. Dave Goddard said the efforts of those climbing club members in the early days paved the way for the formation of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team which was initially based at a hut at the Bloody Bridge area outside Newcastle.
“The team was a very informal organisation in the early days and was the first of its kind to be formed in Ireland. The fact it’s still going strong after 50 years is remarkable,” he continued.
“While statistics don’t exist for the days after the team was formed, it’s estimated that 5,000 people have been assisted since 1962. While we were the first team to be formed in Ireland, there are now 12.”
Mr. Goddard said the volunteers, who include an “eclectic mix of people,” attended 39 call outs last year and is consistently one of the busiest teams in Northern Ireland because of the Mournes.
He also revealed the local volunteers assist other rescue teams and in the past have assisted with operations in the Cooley Mountains.
“We can be called to anywhere as a specialist resource to provide help. We are not just a mountain rescue organisation as we also assist with searches for missing people and do our work on a shoestring budget,” he continued.
Mr. Goddard said the volunteers attended 40 call outs during 2010, explaining this is the busiest the rescue team has ever been in its history.
“The increase in the number of call-outs reflects the fact that significantly more people are now in the Mournes. Weekends are the busiest period, with August a particularly busy month for us. But there is no set pattern to call outs which can be unpredictable.”
Mr. Goddard said 75 per cent of the team’s work is rescuing people and getting them safely off the mountain where they can, if need be, be taken to hospital.
“Sometimes it’s simply a case of getting them off the mountain, giving them, something warm to drink before they head home.”
Volunteers were involved in two major incidents involving crashed helicopters in the Mournes in 2010 and during heavy flooding in Newcastle several years ago members provided assistance to other emergency services helping people trapped in their homes by flood water.
Volunteers also helped clear camp sites during a series of malicious fires in the Mournes two years ago which caused havoc, spending almost 80 hours on this operation.