The Irish Cave Rescue Organisation (ICRO) is a voluntary body responsible for

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

and

abandoned mine ''Abandoned Mine'', also known as ''The Mine'', is a 2012 horror film written and directed by Jeff Chamberlain. The film premiered in Sandy, Utah in September 2012 and had a limited release on August 15, 2013. Plot Five friends explore a suppo ...

rescues within the island of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The organisation attends, manages and carries out rescues at the request of the in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

(PSNI) in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and is responsible to both police services. The rescue organisation has 100 members, including general members who are available to help in any situation and those who have specific skills to assist a rescue, such as first-aid training and the ability to rig a cave.

Funding

The organisation was previously funded by the Northern Ireland Mountain, Cliff and Cave Rescue Coordinating Committee (through

Sport Northern Ireland Sport Northern Ireland, officially the Sports Council for Northern Ireland, is the regional government sports council (funding body) for Northern Ireland. Its head office is based, near Barnett Demesne, at the "House of Sport" on Upper Malone ...

and the

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL; ; ) was a devolved government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department was the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure. After ...

) and the

Irish Coast Guard The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG; ) is part of the Department of Transport (Ireland), Department of Transport in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The primary roles of the Coast Guard include maritime safety and search and rescue. The ''Irish Marine Se ...

. It is now funded by the Northern Ireland Department of Justice and a member of the Northern Ireland Search & Rescue Policy Group and the Northern Ireland Search & Rescue Practitioners Group.

Affiliations

ICRO is affiliated with the

Speleological Union of Ireland The Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI) is the official representative body of cavers in Ireland, both in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland. It is affiliated with the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation. History The SUI was founded ...

(SUI), collectively they are known as SUICRO, as well as the

British Cave Rescue Council Recreational caving in the United Kingdom dates back to the mid-19th century. The four major caving areas of the United Kingdom are North Yorkshire, South Wales, Derbyshire, and the Mendips. Minor areas include Devon, North Wales, and the Scottish ...

. If needed, additional rescuers from Britain can be called in with specialised skills, such as for the recovery of Artur Kozłowski in 2011. ICRO has representatives on the National Co-ordinating Committee for Mountain and Cave Rescue (NCCMCR) in the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Mountain Rescue Co-ordinating Committee (NIMRCC).

Training

ICRO carries out major rescue training exercises throughout the year, and additional specialist training in areas such as rescue rigging, rope skills,

stretcher A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an medical device, apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or ...

handling, communications,

wilderness first aid A wilderness medical emergency is a medical emergency that takes place in a wilderness or remote setting affinitive care (hospital, clinic, etc.). Such an emergency can require specialized skills, treatment techniques, and knowledge in order to ...

and casualty care. Once a year an extended overnight rescue training exercise takes place, replicating the reality and duration of a real cave rescue incident. Through the British Cave Rescue Council, ICRO has access to training in rescue techniques in Britain.

References

External links

Official website of SUICRO
(Speleological Union of Ireland & Irish Cave Rescue Organisation) {{Authority control Cave rescue organizations All-Ireland organisations

Cave Rescue Cave rescue is a highly specialized field of wilderness rescue in which injured, trapped or lost cave explorers are medically treated and extracted from various cave environments. Cave rescue borrows elements from confined space rescue, rope resc ...

Volunteer search and rescue in the United Kingdom 1961 establishments in Ireland Organizations established in 1961

Funding

Affiliations

Training

See also

References

External links