Train with Mountain Rescue or the RNLI

"What if your weekends made you the person people call in an emergency?"

Why this is so fun

There is something quietly extraordinary about spending a Saturday in Donegal or on a Cork harbour pier knowing you are part of the safety net that keeps other people alive. The training is proper and challenging, the people are straight-talking and brilliant, and you will surprise yourself with how quickly you pick up skills you never imagined having. Beyond the adrenaline, you learn to stay calm when everything around you is not, and that changes how you carry yourself everywhere else in your life too.

Someone who did this

Oisín (36), Nenagh — site foreman, rebuilding a 1987 Honda CX500 in the shed

I rang Lough Derg Search and Rescue on a Tuesday evening in February and the fella who answered basically said come down Thursday and see if it suits you.

Become a member to read the full story

Premium members can read a short experience on every card.

First 3 steps

1Find your nearest RNLI station or Mountain Rescue team and email them this week.
2Attend an open evening or community fundraising night to meet current volunteers.
3Complete a basic first aid course through the Red Cross or Order of Malta locally.