Pairc Ui Chaoimh played host to our annual competitions on Saturday, the 18th of May. These competitions allow teams from around the country to practice their skills in realistic scenarios. We have a full photo gallery capturing the various different teams who competed on the day. To visit the gallery, click here.

Over the last few years, under the guidance of Sean O'Reilly, the Cork City Division has made a huge effort to make our competitions as realistic as possible. To this end, Casualty Union now provide the make-up for the day so that the injuries are as near to the real thing as possible. We have also started having the competitions in venues where we normally perform duty, and the injuries are meant to be the type of thing one would expect to come across during that duty. This allows the teams to train and gain experience.

This year, eighteen teams competed. The teams represented the Cork City Division and various divisions from around Dublin. There was two separate contests, namely the Commissioners Cup and the O'Keeffe Cup, with the Lansdowne Division winning the former, and the Cork City Division winning the latter. As usual, the standard was extremely high and both contests were very competitive.

Twelve teams competed for the Commissioners Cup. The scenario was based on two young people being found in a stand after a concert. The teams were expected to examine, diagnose and treat the casualties on site and to summon help for their safe removal. As mentioned, the Landsdowne Division from Dublin were the eventual winners after an extremely competitive contest.

Six teams entered the O’Keeffe Cup, each team consisted of four members. The scenario was that a major incident had occurred at the stadium. The HSE Ambulance Service were on site and St. John Ambulance had been called in to assist. The teams were to treat and care for eight ‘walking wounded’ casualties. The emphasis for this years test was strongly on communication and paperwork. The eventual winners were Cork City.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the GAA in Cork for the use of their facilities at Pairc Ui Chaoimh and all those who through their assistance or by competing made the day such a success.