Ireland’s Leading Volunteer Emergency Medical Response Charity CRITICAL is the largest Volunteer Emergency Medical Response charity in Ireland.
CRITICAL volunteers provide pre-hospital emergency care to critically ill and injured patients in rural and urban areas across the country. Initially founded in 2009 as Irish Community Rapid Response, CRITICAL now has a growing network of volunteer responders operating in 20 counties in cities, towns, and villages. With over 160 medical volunteers, including emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, consultants and other qualified medical professionals, CRITICAL works in partnership with the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to respond to life-threatening emergencies. CRITICAL envisions an Ireland where communities and those living in it have equal opportunity to receive a rapid medical response in the event of a medical emergency, injury, accident, or trauma, no matter the location. We have teams of experienced Volunteer Emergency Medical Doctors, Medical Responders, and Community Responders in communities all over Ireland, with our medical response network steadily growing. We supply emergency medical response vehicles in key areas to experienced advanced or critical care doctors. These vehicles are kitted out with specialist medical equipment including defibrillators, chest compression systems and suction units as well as advanced medical and trauma kits. This allows our volunteer doctors to perform complex and often lifesaving medical procedures, wherever and whenever they’re called upon. We have ambitious plans to further expand this network. Our ground teams responded to more than 1,800 incidents over the last three years alone, working in partnership with the emergency services to give people the very best chance of survival when they find themselves seriously ill or injured. We fundraise to kit out our volunteers so they can continue their life saving work. It costs an average of €25,000 to establish an Advanced level Volunteer Doctor in the community and €120,000 to put a new Critical Care response vehicle on the road. Each lifesaving emergency backpack that we give to a responder in a community like yours costs and average of €1,500 to supply. With your help we will be able to expand this service to more locations across Ireland. Irish Community Rapid Response CLG T/A CRITICAL | Registered Charity No (RCN): 20070762
23/12/2025
🎄 1 Day to Christmas Eve 🎄
As we reach the final day of our countdown, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported CRITICAL this year. Whether you fundraised, raised awareness, volunteered at events, attended events, donated, or simply gave us the opportunity to share our story, your support has made a real difference.
Because of you, life saving care reached people when they needed it most. We are deeply grateful for every act of kindness, big or small. 💛
As we count down to Christmas Eve, we’re reflecting on moments that help shape the future of life saving work. Earlier this year, CRITICAL visited Leinster House following an invitation from Senator Joanne Collins, giving us the chance to speak directly with TDs and Senators about the impact of our Volunteer Responders in communities across Ireland.
We are sincerely grateful to Senator Collins and to all the TDs and Senators who took the time to listen, engage, and support our mission. With continued support, we can reach more people and save more lives. 💛
Today, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to our volunteer Emergency Medical Responders. Day and night, you respond to emergencies ranging from chest pain calls to road traffic collisions and farm accidents, often bringing light to someone’s darkest moment.
Your skill, dedication, and willingness to step forward make a life saving difference in your communities. We are incredibly grateful for everything you do.
✨ This Christmas, you can support these life saving responders.
Please consider donating to CRITICAL and helping equip and support our volunteers when every second counts.
Today, we shine a light on the McMahon family, and especially Hugh and Yvonne, whose gratitude turned into incredible action.
Through the Ready, Set, Respond! challenge, they led their family to become our number one fundraising team of 2025, raising an amazing €18,000 in support of CRITICAL.
Hugh and Yvonne, thank you for your outstanding efforts and belief in our mission. We are so grateful for your support. 💛
✨ This Christmas, you can help make a difference too.
A heartfelt thank you to Milltown/Castlemaine Gaa Club for choosing to support CRITICAL through their annual Charity Blitz. Your generosity and community spirit help support life-saving emergency care when it matters most.
✨ This Christmas, you can help support this vital work too.
Please consider donating to CRITICAL and helping ensure emergency care is there when every second counts.
Today, we shine a light on Team Hannah, who climbed Croagh Patrick in loving memory of Hannah and chose to support CRITICAL through their incredible fundraising efforts.
Your strength, compassion, and sense of community are truly inspiring. It is support like yours that helps drive our mission forward. 💛
✨ This Christmas, you can help continue this life saving work.
Please consider donating to CRITICAL and supporting emergency care in communities across Ireland.
Critical CFR - Killaloe/Ballina are in AIB Killaloe today for a coffee morning in support of CRITICAL.
A huge thank you to Noelle, the AIB staff and all of the local customers for their generous donations and continued support ❤️
17/12/2025
🎄 7 Days to Christmas Eve🎄
Today, we want to say a huge thank you to Terry, who took on this year the Dublin Marathon in support of CRITICAL. His kindness, generosity, and incredible physical effort helped raise vital funds for lifesaving care in our communities.
Terry, we are so grateful for your support and for going the extra mile to help us make a difference. 💛
✨ This Christmas, you can support life saving work too.
Please consider donating to CRITICAL and helping us be there when every second counts.
A heartfelt thank you to Canada Life Reinsurance for their continued partnership and support of CRITICAL. Since 2023, their backing has helped deliver 32 life-support bags to communities across Ireland that have since been used over 400 times to help save lives.
We are grateful for your commitment to strengthening emergency response and supporting volunteer responders nationwide.
✨ This Christmas, you can help save lives too. Please consider donating to CRITICAL and supporting life-saving emergency care in communities across Ireland.
This year, we were deeply honoured to be recognised by the American Chamber for our life-saving community impact. Accepting the award on behalf of CRITICAL was Jim, whose courage in sharing his story continues to raise vital awareness of the importance of rapid emergency care in our communities.
Jim’s story is a powerful reminder that impact isn’t about statistics, it’s about people. People like Jim, and people like Edward, one of CRITICAL’s dedicated volunteer responders. On Easter Sunday, Edward answered the call, arriving quickly, fully trained and equipped, and providing critical care when every second mattered. That response helped save Jim’s life.
Jim, thank you for standing with us, for sharing your experience so openly, and for helping the public understand the difference CRITICAL makes with every call in communities accross Ireland.
✨ This Christmas, your donation can help make more life-saving moments possible.
Through Olivia’s words we are reminded that every light represents more than one person. It represents families, friends, and the entire circle of care made possible through CRITICAL. Every call answered, every life touched, every moment of support. Each one matters.
Today we shine a light on everyone impacted by CRITICAL and extend our heartfelt thanks to every supporter, donor, volunteer, and frontline hero who makes this life-saving work possible. 💛
Today we want to take a moment to thank our incredible first responder groups and community heroes. Your dedication, courage, and compassion make a life-changing difference every single day, often in the most challenging circumstances.
Your tireless work supports individuals and families at their most vulnerable, and we are deeply grateful for the vital role you play in your communities.
✨ This Christmas, you can help support the heroes who support others.
By donating to CRITICAL, you help ensure continued care, resources, and support for patients, families, and the frontline teams who stand beside them.
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Irish Community Rapid Response - By Land and Air was established in 2008 to deliver professional pre hospital care directly to the site of medical emergencies throughout Ireland. Our volunteer doctors have made a significant difference while working in association with the National Ambulance Service (NAS) when responding to 999/112 emergency calls.
Building on our experience and success we launced Ireland's first charity Air Ambulance/ Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in July 2019. In our first year of service we responded to over 520 taskings through the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC). The NEOC deploys the Air Ambulance as an asset of the NAS, in response to 999/112 calls.
Based out of Rathcool in North Cork, the Irish Community Air Ambulance provides a vital service to people experiencing time critical life threatening emergencies, bringing an Advanced Paramedic to them within minutes of the inital call to 999/112.
The main call outs include Cardiac Arrest, Road Traffic Incidents, Stroke, Fall from Height, Farm and Equestrian related injuries.
As a charity, we rely on public donations to fund the costs of keeping the helicopter in the air.
Please contact us on info@icrr.ie if you would like to know more, or if you would like to hold a fundraiser. We will get back to you ASAP.
