Menu
17/02/2009
Mourne Mountain Rescue Accolade
The team credited with a dramatic mountain rescue operation last week in Co Wicklow is being honoured.
Northern Ireland Sports Minister Gregory Campbell will tonight host an event to acknowledge the contribution of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team to the Northern Ireland community.
Speaking ahead of the reception at Parliament Buildings, Minister Campbell said: "The team is being presented with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services which was awarded in 2008 for all of the work that they undertake in the community.
"It is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon groups of this kind and is equivalent in status to the MBE.
"I must commend the members of Mourne Mountain Rescue Team past and present for providing over 47 years of voluntary service to those that use the Mourne Mountains.
"Their dedication to providing a professional service and commitment to training and assisting others in need is exemplary."
The Minister continued: "I was pleased that Sport Northern Ireland has provided the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team with funding of £70,000 for the purchase of their new transit van and radios which have already been put to good use.
"While many would argue that the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team are not a sporting team, their very existence and indeed the existence of other similar rescue and support teams, allows so many people from all over Northern Ireland and further afield, the opportunities to use the mountains for leisure and recreational purposes," he concluded.
'Further afield' last week meant the Mourne team joined forces with their colleagues on the NI-based North West Mountain Rescue team as back-up for the Irish Republic's volunteers who had launched searches on Monday for two snowboarders trapped on one of Ireland's highest mountains.
They were just hours from freezing to death when the Ulster rescuers located them and they were winched to safety by helicopter.
The men were stranded in sub-zero temperatures on Lugnaquilla in the Wicklow Mountains for almost a day, after their map blew away and thick fog crept in.
The call around 4pm on Monday sparked a major manhunt involving 60 volunteers from both sides of the border as well as teams and helicopters from the RAF, Irish army and Coastguard.
See: Lost Snowboarders Found In Cross-Border Rescue
(BMcC/JM)
Northern Ireland Sports Minister Gregory Campbell will tonight host an event to acknowledge the contribution of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team to the Northern Ireland community.
Speaking ahead of the reception at Parliament Buildings, Minister Campbell said: "The team is being presented with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Services which was awarded in 2008 for all of the work that they undertake in the community.
"It is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon groups of this kind and is equivalent in status to the MBE.
"I must commend the members of Mourne Mountain Rescue Team past and present for providing over 47 years of voluntary service to those that use the Mourne Mountains.
"Their dedication to providing a professional service and commitment to training and assisting others in need is exemplary."
The Minister continued: "I was pleased that Sport Northern Ireland has provided the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team with funding of £70,000 for the purchase of their new transit van and radios which have already been put to good use.
"While many would argue that the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team are not a sporting team, their very existence and indeed the existence of other similar rescue and support teams, allows so many people from all over Northern Ireland and further afield, the opportunities to use the mountains for leisure and recreational purposes," he concluded.
'Further afield' last week meant the Mourne team joined forces with their colleagues on the NI-based North West Mountain Rescue team as back-up for the Irish Republic's volunteers who had launched searches on Monday for two snowboarders trapped on one of Ireland's highest mountains.
They were just hours from freezing to death when the Ulster rescuers located them and they were winched to safety by helicopter.
The men were stranded in sub-zero temperatures on Lugnaquilla in the Wicklow Mountains for almost a day, after their map blew away and thick fog crept in.
The call around 4pm on Monday sparked a major manhunt involving 60 volunteers from both sides of the border as well as teams and helicopters from the RAF, Irish army and Coastguard.
See: Lost Snowboarders Found In Cross-Border Rescue
(BMcC/JM)
Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.
14 July 2023
Walker Dies After Collapsing At Slieve Donard Summit
A walker has died after collapsing while walking Slieve Donard on Thursday, 13 July. The Mourne Mountain Rescue Team received a call from police following a request to help a walker. They responded alongside an Air Ambulance, however the walker passed away at the scene. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
Walker Dies After Collapsing At Slieve Donard Summit
A walker has died after collapsing while walking Slieve Donard on Thursday, 13 July. The Mourne Mountain Rescue Team received a call from police following a request to help a walker. They responded alongside an Air Ambulance, however the walker passed away at the scene. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
12 April 2006
Soldier killed by lightning strike named
The soldier who died after being struck by lightning in County Down at the weekend has been named. Sergeant Carl Stephenson, 29, from Withernsea in Yorkshire was found on the summit of Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains just before 2pm on Saturday by a group of walkers.
Soldier killed by lightning strike named
The soldier who died after being struck by lightning in County Down at the weekend has been named. Sergeant Carl Stephenson, 29, from Withernsea in Yorkshire was found on the summit of Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains just before 2pm on Saturday by a group of walkers.
10 April 2006
Climber killed by lightning strike
A man who was found dead on the top of a County Down mountain at the weekend may have been struck by lightning. The man's body was found on Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains just before 2pm on Saturday by a group of walkers.
Climber killed by lightning strike
A man who was found dead on the top of a County Down mountain at the weekend may have been struck by lightning. The man's body was found on Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains just before 2pm on Saturday by a group of walkers.
26 August 2014
Father And Son Rescued From Mourne Mountains
A father and son, missing for almost 13 hours in the Mourne Mountains, have been rescued in a joint operation by the mountain rescue team and a coastguard helicopter. It is understood that the pair had gone on an overnight camping trip, with the family raising the alarm at about 16:00 on Monday when they failed to return home.
Father And Son Rescued From Mourne Mountains
A father and son, missing for almost 13 hours in the Mourne Mountains, have been rescued in a joint operation by the mountain rescue team and a coastguard helicopter. It is understood that the pair had gone on an overnight camping trip, with the family raising the alarm at about 16:00 on Monday when they failed to return home.
07 June 2022
Poots Welcomes New Rescue Equipment For Castlewellan Forest Park
DAERA Minister Edwin Poots has visited Castlewellan Forest Park to see first-hand some of the new rescue equipment funded under the Rural Community Rescue Scheme.
Poots Welcomes New Rescue Equipment For Castlewellan Forest Park
DAERA Minister Edwin Poots has visited Castlewellan Forest Park to see first-hand some of the new rescue equipment funded under the Rural Community Rescue Scheme.
-
Northern Ireland WeatherToday:It will be cloudy again throughout the day. Mainly dry in the morning, but patchy drizzle in places, becoming more widespread and persistent in the afternoon. Freshening southwesterly winds. Maximum temperature 12 °C.Tonight:Cloudy with a spell of heavy rain pushing south through late evening and the early hours, followed by some clear spells. Minimum temperature 6 °C.
