On Friday the twenty-first of September a former pupil of CBC Monkstown came back to the school to talk to us about his work with Saint John’s Ambulance. The former pupil, named Denis, was greeted by three members of 4CMO as he arrived at the school. The welcoming committee then introduced him to the rest of the group. Denis then began his talk about Saint John’s Ambulance. He told the group about all the work that the association does in the community. Denis explained how each member of Saint John’s Ambulance is a volunteer who is not paid by the association. However, there are fringe benefits for some members such as free entry into certain games at either Croke Park or the Aviva Stadium. Denis explained that Saint John’s Ambulance is run in a military style. Each member has a rank like in an army. He told us that if we were interested in joining we would start off at the first rank of “Cadet”. All joiners have to undergo special training which runs every Monday night for boys that are interested. It was interesting to hear that that Cadets and other lower ranks must salute their superiors and that all ranks must wear a standard uniform that varies slightly depending on rank. Denis made the point that, while it does take some hard work and dedication to become a Saint John’s Ambulance volunteer, it can also be fun as some Monday nights are dedicated to a football match or some other recreational activity. Denis explained the courses that must be undertaken to become a part of Saint John’s Ambulance. One of these is a first aid course after which you are qualified to attend to injured people while on duty or when in the back of an ambulance. Denis then took a lively questions and answers session. Members of our group asked him several interesting questions including “What age you must be to be eligible to drive one of the ambulances used by Saint John’s Ambulance?” and “What was the worst accident you were ever involved in?” He gladly answered all of our questions. We were a bit disappointed to hear that you must be at least twenty-three to drive one of the ambulances. In fact, this drew several moans from our group). While the answer to the latter question brought about an interesting, if gory, story which involved a teenage boy getting his leg stuck in the wheel of his own bicycle. At the end of the session, the original three students from 4CMO thanked Denis for taking the time to visit us before escorting him out of the reception. Text: DO'R Photos: SL |
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Speakers' Corner"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." Archives
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