About Us

About Us

Irish Community Rapid Response – By Land and Air are committed to providing safe, effective, and timely emergency medical care to those seriously ill or injured in Ireland through the provision of a network of volunteer doctors, Rapid Response Vehicles and a dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS).

Where we've come from:

The preventable loss of a child’s life in West Cork in 2006 was the catalyst that led to the formation of Irish Community Rapid Response (ICRR). Galvanised by the tragedy, community members embarked on a mission: to expedite the delivery of professional A&E care to life-threatening emergencies in rural or disadvantaged urban areas.

Our Mission

Irish Community Rapid Response – By Land and Air are committed to providing safe, effective, and timely emergency medical care to those seriously ill or injured in Ireland through the provision of a network of volunteer doctors, Rapid Response Vehicles and a dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS)

“Right People are in the Right Place at the Right Time with the Right Equipment and the Right Skills to achieve the Right Outcome”

The ICRR Impact

Out of the 100 emergencies that ICRR teams currently respond to per month, six lives are saved. Working in partnership with the UCD Centre for Emergency Medical Science (UCD CEMS), ICRR has enlisted over 235 Volunteer Doctors to date. Over the next few years, ICRR aims to raise the number of Volunteer Doctors signed up for voluntary service throughout the country to nearly 500. In line with this expansion, ICRR aims to increase its fleet of Rapid Response Vehicles to further impact communities with the added benefits RRV’s provide.

Awards and recognition

ICRR’s achievement in social impact and innovation has been recognised by prestige organisations, such as the Arthur Guinness Fund in 2012 to West Cork Rapid Response (WCRR) in which founder John Kearney went on to develop a National model for all communities (Irish Community Rapid Response). In 2013, John Kearney, ICRR’s Founding CEO, became a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland ‘Impact’ awardee and in 2015, he was elected as an Ashoka Fellow. ICRR have also been recognised as a vital social enterprise through the Social Innovation Fund Ireland (SIFI). The ICRR team come from strong backrounds in fundraising, aviation, medicine, voluntary services, customer service and many more sectors and industries. The wide range of past experience provides ICRR with a strong and exciting future.

How does ICRR work?

Simply. When you call Ireland’s emergency numbers, 999 or 112, to report a life-threatening medical emergency, an ambulance will be dispatched from the nearest hospital. At the same time, the emergency services will deploy an ICRR Volunteer Doctor, Rapid Response Vehicle or the ICRR Air Ambulance (callsign Helimed 92).

Volunteer doctors

Volunteer Doctors

Since 2008, ICRR has been developing a register of Volunteer Doctors throughout Ireland.  The volunteer doctors are tasked via 999/112 call dispatchers at the National Emergency Operations Centre, and when available, they attend serious life threatening emergencies in their own locality.   This access to medical care well within “the golden hour” often mean the difference between life and death. Over 235 Volunteer Doctors are responding in their communities in 2020.

Rapid Response Vehicles

Rapid Response Vehicles

In addition, the ICRR has rolled out ten Rapid Response Vehicles (RRV’s) nationwide that are National Ambulance Service assets and complement the existing National Ambulance Service model. The RRVs are placed with a volunteer doctor in areas of high need.

Air Ambulance

Building on our experience with the network of Volunteer Doctors and Rapid Response Vehicles, ICRR successfully launched Ireland’s first dedicated and charity funded Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) on the 30th July 2019.

Based out of North Cork, ICRR’s Community Air Ambulance (callsign Helimed92) is an asset of the National Ambulance Service and responds to the most serious trauma and medical emergencies when tasked.  In the first 11 months of service, over 483 missions have been tasked.  We offer a vital lifesaving service, bringing advanced paramedics from the National Ambulance Service to the roadside, farm or home within minutes of the incident.  Most critically, the Air Ambulance can then bring the casualty to the hospital that best suits their life saving needs, not just the closest geographically.

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Authority Identifier We confirm that our organisation complies with The Governance Code for the Community, Voluntary and Charitable Sector in Ireland.
  • Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA) 20070762
  • Companies Registration Office (CRO) 459255
  • Revenue (Charities Unit) (CHY) 18454
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