Nenagh Order of Malta Unit is homeless after 85 years of dedicated service to the local community

After 85 years of voluntary service to the people of Nenagh and surrounding districts, the local Order of Malta unit no longer has a home.

Over those eight and a half decades, generations of  members of the local unit have spent their spare time attending matches, providing First Aid to injured players and transporting them to hospital, if the injuries require.

If a runner’s heart stops suddenly during a race, it’s the Order of Malta members who are there with their machine to resuscitate.

If a jockey falls and breaks a leg at the annual point-to-point, or worse, the local are always present to provide all the necessary First Aid care and pre-hospital support.

Over its distinguished history, the unit of the Order has run First Aid courses for hundreds, if not thousands, of local citizens, who in turn have used the skills they were taught to patch up the wounded, take care of the sick and save lives.

Today the Nenagh unit comprises just 12 volunteers, most in demanding jobs, who give unselfishly of their spare time to provide a vital service to the community.

DESPERATE NEED

One such member is secondary school teacher Julie King, who says the unit now desperately needs a headquarters after it was recently forced to vacate a premises it rented in Stafford Street. “We are very active in the community and we really need to have a place we can call our own - a place to hold our meetings, training events and run First Aid classes,” says Julie.

Despite the crucial role the units plays, they receive no State funding and are entirely dependent on fundraising.

“All the fundraising has to be done by just the twelve of us and we all work full-time,” comments Julie, who somehow manages to fit in her volunteering role when not teaching and spending hours commuting to and from her place of employment from Nenagh to Tipperary Town five days a week.

Julie says the unit would love to acquire a premises in the town that it could share with other similar voluntary organisations, such as the local search and rescue group and the Red Cross.

“It’s really imperative that some kind of community hub is set up for us and other groups serving the community like ours,” she says.

GREAT WORK

Julie’s father, David King, has so far given 56 years service to Order of Malta units, first in Birr and now for decades in Nenagh. He has witnessed the great work done by the Order down through the decades.

“When the Day Care Centre in Nenagh first opened many years ago it was very short of funds. So, we provided voluntary drivers to bring elderly people to and from the centre. Our drivers were doing a round run trip of 120 miles a day – and loving it,” David reveals.

He adds: “One of our big things we do over the years is providing people with skills in First Aid so that they can then help others who are sick or injured, and even save lives.”

THE MASS TRIPS

John Sherlock, who has served with the unit for the past 40 years, recalls past decades prior to the arrival of church radio and broadband when the Order  transported older people to Mass in their ambulance every Sunday.

“The work we do involves a very big commitment,” says John, who adds that he would love to see the local council provide them with a rent-free headquarters, as has happened in some other counties.

LIFE SAVING DEVICES

Another unit member, Shane Mulcahy, revealed that in conjunction with the group Defibs for Life, the unit has played a major part in rolling out several potentially life-saving defibrillators in Nenagh.

Shane says individuals and local businesses have been very supportive of their voluntary work. “Arrabawn co-op is one such company, having allowed us to keep our ambulance on their property for the past 25 years.”

OLD AMBULAnCE

Another struggle encountered by the unit is trying to maintain its traditional high standard of service with its ageing ambulance. Nora O’ Loughlin, a unit member now for 11 years, says their 18-year-old current vehicle is not really suitable for modern day needs. “There is a lot of mileage on it, and it is not as suitable as it should be to meet current standards,” she reveals.

Nora said the unit wanted to provide the best possible care for its patients and protect the welfare of its own members, who in the absence of electric lifts, currently had to physically lift casualties in and out of the old ambulance.

“Our ambulance is still working, but for how much longer?” asks Nora. “It’s also very expensive to maintain such an old vehicle in good working order.”

The unit members say that acquiring a modern ambulance would cost as much as €90,000 - or more.

LOBBYING

The obstacles faced by the unit have been outlined to the most powerful politician in the land. The Officer-In-Charge, Thurles based Gerard Fogarty, recently held talks with the Taoiseach Micheál Martin when the latter was in Thurles for the National Hurling League encounter between Tipperary and Cork in Semple Stadium. Mr Martin said he would look into the situation.

“We have made representations to many local politicians who support us,” says Gerard.

He reveals that people have been very kind, and offers have been made in regard to possible new homes for the unit.

“We have explored various community spaces to date, but unfortunately they have not been suitable to meet our range of needs,” says Gerard.

The unit has had to pay rent for previous headquarters. But with very limited resources, a rent-free premises would be the ideal situation for this cash-strapped voluntary body whose glowing record speaks for itself.

Members say they would love if the council would consider transforming the old Rialto cinema site at Banba Square into a shared space for homeless voluntary groups similar to theirs. Councillors and officials met last Friday to discuss the issue of a shared space, but the wait for this homeless unit goes on for now.