A representative group from the Galway units of the Civil Defence joined members representing every county in Ireland last week – to be presented with specially commissioned medals to commemorate their heroic efforts in response to the Covid pandemic.

The Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney honoured the Civil Defence volunteers for their work during the pandemic at the ceremony in Croke Park.

The Minister commissioned a special Covid-19 medal for all volunteers who undertook duties during the crisis; the Covid-19 cross with bar marks the first time the Irish state has awarded a cross to civilians.

“A cross is the highest level of awards,” explained Commander Louie Casserly, Oranmore Civil Defence Unit Officer, and Galway Temporary Assistant Civil Defence Officer in response to the Covid pandemic.

“It is for valour and normally worn above other medals or first in the line from right to left. The bar ‘Covid 19’ shows the recipient of the medal came face to face with danger and was a frontline worker and went above and beyond just doing their job.

“The Civil Defence volunteers were the first to step up and immediately put into action – all the while remembering our members are volunteers,” she added.

Minister Coveney – speaking at the event – echoed those sentiments, praising the support that Civil Defence volunteers provided to their local communities and the frontline emergency services.

Nationally, Civil Defence volunteers undertook 9,500 taskings during the pandemic in support of the Local Authorities, HSE and An Garda Síochána – and volunteers assisted their communities in every county across the country.

These included bringing people for medical appointments and essential medical treatment; bringing people to testing and vaccination centres; providing assistance to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service; assisting in HSE vaccination centres; sorting and delivering Covid-19 test kits to testing centres; collecting foodstuffs from suppliers and bakers for food hubs, and delivering food parcels, medication and library books to vulnerable households.

The Civil Defence can always use new volunteers – so if you are interested in joining, contact Brendan Qualter at bqualter@galwaycoco.ie