Irish Cave Rescue Organisation - ICRO

11/10/2026

Rescue exercise, Pollnagollum, Co Clare Saturday 10 October 2026

A full rescue exercise in Co Clare on Saturday simulated a search for an overdue party of cavers.

In the exercise scenario, six caving club members making an overnight through-trip from Polnagollum to Poll Elva missed their expected callout at 8am.

ICRO deployed two search and comfort teams to Pollnagollum and made contact with two casualties among the overdue party – one with hypothermia, the other a lower leg injury.

While the search and comfort teams made the casualties comfortable and established hot points, riggers set up and tested two haul systems from the bottom of the pothole.

A third simulated casualty was introduced to the exercise with the simulated collapse of a member of the rescue team due to hyperthermia.

Throughout the morning and afternoon, members of the team also carried out tests on the communication systems used to activate the team for a cave rescue.

27/09/2026

A final friendly reminder that if you are intending to stay at the Lady Gregory Hotel during the SUICRO 2026 caving symposium, you should book your room before the 30th September.

Please call the bookings office at the Lady Gregory Hotel on +35391632333 and mention that you are attending the SUICRO 26 Caving Symposium to get the reduced B&B rate.

The hotel has advised us that quite a few of the rooms that we have provisionally held for SUICRO 26 have not yet been booked. There is another event on in Gort dring the Bank Holiday weekend and they need to free up any rooms for other bookings after the 30th September.

SUICRO 26 SIGNAL GROUP
We are operating a SIGNAL group for those who wish to receive updates about SUICRO 26 , leading up to and during the symposium.
If you would like to join this group please contact us on [email protected] with your name and telephone number.

UPDATED SCHEDULE
The updated schedule for SUICRO 26 is available here:

https://www.caving.ie/suicro-2026-lady-gregory-hotel-gort-co-galway-23rd-26th-october-2026/

On behalf of the SUICRO 26 coordination group

SUICRO 2026 LIVE UPDATES on Signal We will be operating a SIGNAL group leading up to and during the SUICRO 26 Symposium to provide updates.You will need to download and setup the SIGNAL messaging app to your phone.https://signal.org/ Please contact [email protected] if you would like to be....

09/07/2026

A suckler calf that fell into a deep cave has been successfully rescued thanks to members of the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation and the North West Mountain Rescue Team - NWMRT.

Calf rescued from Fermanagh cave - 09 July 2026

08/07/2026

07/07/2026

Livestock rescue, Co Fermanagh 7 July 2026.

The Irish Cave Rescue Organisation was contacted earlier today by a farmer in Garrison, Co Fermanagh about a calf that fell into a deep cave.

Local ICRO team members made their way to the cave at 7pm and were joined by colleagues from the North West Mountain Rescue Team.

Three ICRO core team members rigged the cave for hauling before descending a 7-8 metre pitch into the cave.

After skillfully corralling the calf and attaching a sling harness, the animal was carefully hauled to the surface. The rescue operation was completed by 9pm.

caving.ie/icro/donate-to-icro

[email protected]

04/07/2026

https://www.con-telegraph.ie/2026/07/04/sheepdog-back-home-after-rescue-from-mayo-sea-cave/

A RETIRED sheepdog is back home after being rescued from a sea cave in north Mayo.

03/07/2026

Dog rescue, Belmullet Co Mayo, 2nd July 2026

The Irish Cave Rescue Organisation (ICRO) was called out to assist with the rescue of a dog from a sea cave by Porturlin Harbour near Belmullet, Co Mayo last night.

Jess, a retired sheepdog belonging to a local family, had been missing since last weekend.

Locals could hear barking, but a boat rescue was considered impossible due to sea swell.

ICRO was officially tasked at 6pm yesterday and formed up a small rescue rigging team drawn from core team members in Clare, Tyrone and Dublin.

Having arrived to the scene around 9.30pm, two rescuers descended by rope some 50 metres down a grassy slope and over the cliff edge to get to Jess in the sea cave.

The dog was put in an animal rescue harness and given food, then hauled up from the base of the cliff and returned to her family – the entire operation being concluded before midnight.

ICRO chairperson, Adam de Eyto said the ICRO team were glad to be able to assist.

“ICRO personnel are trained to carry out rescues of people or animals in caves and abandoned mines. When requested by An Garda Síochána or the Police Service of Northern Ireland, ICRO volunteers can respond anywhere in the country. In this case it was a sea cave at the base of a difficult cliff.”

[email protected]

22/06/2026

ICRO training in Co Clare this past weekend introduced a group of trainees to the cave stabilisation and digging techniques that might be called for in the event of a rescue.

Saturday’s focus was on rock-breaking using hand tools, power tools, capping kits, and the plug-and-feather technique – the method used in a callout last year in Co Fermanagh to slightly widen a passage.

On Sunday, the practical workshops continued with sessions on shoring and propping loose material using timber and scaffolding.

The trainees were also joined by a Clare County Fire and Rescue Service crew from Ennistymon, who generously gave their time to demonstrate their equipment and capabilities, and discuss their application to cave rescue.

16/06/2026

June has been a busy month for ICRO volunteers and core team members qualifying and refreshing in first aid.

15 took part in a REC Outdoor course, delivered by Jill and Phil Maxwell, learning foundational first aid skills in field conditions at the ICRO store in Fermanagh last weekend.

Earlier in the month, eight ICRO participants also completed the the PHECC Emergency First Responder + Entonox and Cardiac First Response Advanced run by First Aid For Life.

10/06/2026

ICRO participated last weekend in a joint rescue exercise with Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team and Donegal Mountain Rescue Team, at Diarmuid and Gráinne's Cave in Co. Sligo.

After a briefing at the foot of the hill with all teams, ICRO volunteers made their way up the steep slope, through torrential rain at times, to the entrance and into the cave. They found the volunteer 'casualty' at the base of a 10-metre drop inside the cave. A medical assessment was made, determining a lower leg injury, and a rope haul system was quickly installed in preparation for a stretcher evacuation. Several interim rope belays were also established along the route back to the entrance.

ICRO maintained radio contact with mountain rescue colleagues to advise them of the scenario. Mountain rescue teams were up the hill immediately after ICRO, and assisted with the haul and transport of the casualty to the cave mouth.

Here, the stretcher was transferred from ICRO's underground rope belay systems to the mountain rescue surface belaying system, which lowered it in three stages down the long incline to the road.

This was a excellent learning opportunity for ICRO, and we would like to thank Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team for hosting the event and Donegal Mountain Rescue Team for their involvement.