Civil Defence volunteers from across Donegal played a major role in the Papal visit over the course of last weekend, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 August.
They were involved on the ground in both the Phoenix Park, Dublin and at Knock Shrine, Mayo in supporting the Principal Response Agencies (An Garda Siochana and the National Ambulance Services).
At Knock Shrine, 140 volunteers were on duty, coordinated by Rose Doherty, Mayo Civil Defence Officer.
The 140 volunteers were drawn from counties Donegal, Sligo, Roscommon, Galway and Laois. While their main role was assisting the An Garda Siochana in terms of safety and stewarding at the event, volunteers were also involved in supporting the National Ambulance Service providing medical assistance.
Volunteers were on duty from Saturday night at 10.30pm until Sunday afternoon at 13.00pm.
Donegal Civil Defence provided 24 volunteers and 2 ambulances to the duty at Knock, manned by eight Emergency Medical Technicians.
Laois Civil Defence provided Communications to the event through their Incident Command Vehicle using the TETRA network, which ensured efficient communications between Civil Defence, the Gardaí and the National Ambulance Service for the duration of the event.
Roscommon Civil Defence Welfare Unit provided food for all volunteers on duty over the Saturday night and Sunday.
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