You could say Fermoy man Adrian O'Hara is flying high in his career and that he covers a lot of ground in his job. An air crewman with the Irish Coast Guard, he and the rest of the crew work from the Search and Rescue base at Waterford Airport.

Adrian, from Marian Square in Fermoy, loves his job. He started out with the army before switching to the Irish Air Corps, training as a paramedic while he was with them. He spent four years there before moving to work with the private helicopter company CHC. After moving to the Coast Guard he was first based in Dublin, before moving back to Waterford to work.

The  24/7 service sees crew members work full 24-hour shifts at a time.  They can work up to 30 hours if necessary and are rostered to work 240 hours a month.

They serve the south and south-east region from the Waterford base, which opened in 2002 but Adrian says they are often called further afield to assist with operations in Dublin, West Cork, England and Wales. Anywhere really, within their helicopter's 270 mile range.

Speaking of their helicopter - it's a new Sikorsky S92 they launched in January. Adrian loves it. "It's a huge improvement, a huge leap from the one we had. It's got a much better range and engine performance."  It can do a top speed of 160 miles per hour, carry a greater number of casualties and operate in more adverse weather conditions than the previous one. It allows them to carry out taskings for the HSE including transporting patients or organs for transplants in the UK. The ramp at the back makes it much easier to transport people, Adrian says. They used to have to lift people up and in, now they use the ramp to get them inside more smoothly and safely.

Adrian is trained to operate the winch from inside the helicopter and to descend on it to assist on the ground. He uses his training as a paramedic to help in rescue missions and in transporting people to hospital.

"The sense of anticipation as you sit at the door never leaves you but it's your experience that helps you assess and deal with situations," he explains. High winds and seas present the most challenging conditions for crew and helicopter. "We try to eliminate as much risk as possible. We don't go looking for danger. Stormy weather is definitely the most difficult."

Adrian says there's huge job satisfaction, especially when they are involved in successful rescue operations. He and his crew mates get a great lift from receiving a card or thank you message afterwards from the people they've helped. "It has a huge effect on the base," he points out.

The opposite side of that is the times when they are called out to help recover bodies, such as the recent scene they attended off Sheep's Head in  West Cork when the bodies of two Dutch men were taken from the sea.

Since opening in May 2002, the Waterford base has responded to over 1,300 emergency taskings countrywide, in addition to routine work with the Gardai, RNLI, Defence Forces, HSE, Irish Mountain Rescue Association, local authorities and other agencies. Last year they carried out 144 missions, an increase of 40% on 2012.

Adrian enjoys the way he can challenge his skills and practices on the job. He also likes the opportunity it gives to meet different people and interact with different services.

He comes from a well known and long established Fermoy family. His mum still lives in Marian Square. His dad has passed away. Adrian has two brothers and a sister. One brother, Pop O'Hara, is equally well known in the town. His other brother and sister live in Wexford.

So what does Adrian do on his down time? Well he's just got involved in the newly formed Fermoy Community First Responders, something that promises to keep him equally busy on his days off. He's an eager member of the brand new group.

"I was delighted to get the opportunity to get involved. It's a great service and I'm delighted we're going to be able to offer it in Fermoy.  I can put my skills and experience to good use. It's brilliant to be able to do that." he says.

In the air or on the ground, it seems that it's helping people that Adrian loves most!

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