Glowing praise for Neil’s search and rescue work

Glowing praise for Neil’s search and rescue work

12 March 2025

TRIBUTES have been paid to Newcastle’s Dr Neil Powell who has won a major award for his outstanding work in the field of search and rescue.

Dr Powell — of the Search and Rescue Dogs Association — was recently awarded the outstanding contribution award at the Northern Ireland Blue Light Awards.

The Newcastle man’s work in his specialist field has been praised by the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team.

The volunteers say the award winner is best known for his many years of commitment to Search and Rescue Dogs Association Ireland North (SARDAIN) which he established a number of years ago to support the work of mountain rescue team. 

At that time, he was also a member and subsequently a leader of the rescue team prior to committing fully to the development of search dogs.

The rescue team says it still has the pleasure of working with Neil at the “sharp end” on a regular basis alongside the wider team within SARDAIN. 

Dr Powell was among a number of inspirational individuals and teams from across the emergency services who were celebrated for their incredible efforts and community impact at the first Northern Ireland Blue Light Awards. 

Organisers of the awards, Connect Through Service, an organisation that supports post-service careers, led the prestigious ceremony at Holywood’s Culloden Estate and Spa, attended by over 300 guests.

The event was sponsored by local firm Hinch Distillery with Dr Powell and the other award winners chosen by a panel of high profile representatives from the public service, media, sport and business sectors. 

The local man launched SARDAIN in 1978, with his groundbreaking work in training search and rescue dogs helping locate people in challenging areas, from mountains to collapsed urban zones. He has saved countless lives in critical situations around the world.

The judging panel noted how significantly Dr Powell’s leadership and sheer dedication has strengthened the search and rescue community both locally and globally.

Members said his commitment to awareness raising, mentorship and professionalism, made him a worthy winner of this special award.

Among the guests at the awards ceremony were Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.

They were joined by the province’s chief Fire and Rescue Officer Aidan Jennings and Northern Ireland Ambulance Service chief executive Michael Bloomfield.

Connect Through Service co-founders Jason Gillard and Graham Given congratulated Dr Powell and the other award winners.