Our parent legal entity & accounting body, provides the Team with international standard governance, management procedures & administrative practice guidance. Their Secretary-General championed the recent development of the Mountain Rescue Base by facilitating the necessary contracts with Community Finance Ireland and County Wicklow Rural Partnership. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Irish Red Cross has provided financial support towards the costs of base & vehicles insurance, motor fuels, medical supplies and personnel protection equipment.
Mountain Rescue Ireland is the all-island representative organisation for mountain rescue teams on the island and is itself a member of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR) the international body dedicated to maintaining best practice in all aspects of mountain rescue emergency response worldwide. The Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team as a member of the MRI has access to grant-aid available from government departments ~ the Dept. of Transport, and Dept. of Rural and Community Development, and access to the services of national agencies such as the Irish Coast Guard, Irish Air Corps, National Ambulance Service, etc.
An Garda Siochana has been a long-time friend and supporter of the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team – though our emergency service links with the Wicklow Garda Division – and the occasional use of Glen Base by The Garda College as a venue for specialist Garda training courses. In addition, the Team has been a received donations by both individual Gardai and the Garda Hillwalking Group.
The Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team is very dependant annually upon and extremely thankful to receive a constant stream of funding donations from mountaineers – either individually or through their clubs and hill-walking groups, most of whom are affiliated to Mountaineering Ireland. These funds are used to finance the routine running costs of the Team base, its vehicles, and the replacement of rescue equipment & technology and the provision of medical and casualty-care supplies. These funds also contribute to the support of training for Team members in a range of subjects including field search and search management, rope and swift water rescue, and casualty care certification etc. These hill-walking clubs & groups include amongst others:
• Arklow/Wicklow HWG
• Glenwalk HWG
• Navan Trekkers
• The Wayfarers
• The Lung Gompas
• The Holiday Fellowship
• The Roving Soles
• The Bray Strollers
• The Imaal Walkers
• Craul’s Shop in Manor Kilbride
• Trekkers Mountaineering Club.
Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team has maintained a long and close relationship with the Wicklow Mountains National Park – many of whose staff are also Glen Team volunteers. WMNP since the Team’s foundation has provided the Team with a wide range of vital useful material supports, including temporary office and storage space, guidance on best environmental practices and access to mountain lands / routes, etc.
The Charlie Froud Foundation in Bristol, England http://thecharliefroudfoundation.org/ was set up in memory of Charlie, a 14 year-old boy who died in October 2008 when the light aircraft he was travelling in, crashed in the Wicklow Mountains, while on his way to stay in the holiday home of his good friend Ayman and his parents, all of whom died in the plane crash. Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue team volunteers searched for & found the plane that fateful day in October 2008 and supported colleague emergency services and agencies in the subsequent recovery operation. Over the years since, the Charlie Froud Foundation has donated significant funds to assist with the building of Glen Base and the purchase of Team uniforms and equipment. One of the Glen Team’s specialist vehicles has the call-sign “Glen Charlie” in recognition of the contributions the foundation has made.
https://www.wicklow.ie/ contributes €5,000 annually to support to the Glen of Imaal MRT mountain search and rescue mission. Occasionally also the County Community, Cultural & Social Development budget also provides a personnel protection equipment (PPE) grant of towards team-member mountain rescue clothing.
https://www.wicklowpartnership.ie/ under a contract in 2020-21 with the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team provided grant-aid towards the development of the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Base. The project which encompassed development of the Base equipment storage bays; an emergency vehicle washing plinth, and improvements to the building heating & ventilation systems.
https://communityfinanceireland.com/ provided the Glen Team with both financial management advice to the project and the bridging finance necessary to develop the mountain rescue base.
A GoFundMe campaign operated over winter 2020-21 generated over €9,400 much needed funds to replace programmed donation finance lost during 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When someone goes missing in our community, we all know someone who knows the family, and we all hope for a positive outcome and that they will be found.
