Mayo firefighters to take on the best in the world
Declan Maher with his wife Joanne and James Grealis with his wife Mary and baby daughter Cara. Picture: Alison Laredo
A pair of Mayo firefighters are taking on the world’s best at a major international competition next month.
Castlebar-based firefighters Declan Maher and James Grealis are competing in the World Firefighters Games in Aalborg, Denmark, from September 7 to 17.
The duo has been training for months for the ultimate test of their firefighting skills. More than 3,000 firefighters and their families will attend the Games.
Dublin native Declan Maher, a former Defences Forces officer, moved to Mayo in 2003 and joined the retained firefighter ranks at Castlebar station five years ago.
Achill man James Grealis, who works for a haulage company, joined the service at the same time as Declan. They are the first firefighters from Mayo to ever compete in the World Firefighter Games.
“We feel like we are flying it at the moment,” said Declan.
“We have a lot of work put in,” added James.
They are determined to do Mayo proud at the Games.
“We are going over there to compete and get noticed. We are going over there to try and bring something back,” said a determined James.
Declan and James are competing in separate categories with Declan duking it out for the title of ‘Toughest Firefighter Alive’ while James will be testing his driving skills in the Firetruck Challenge and his speed in a cycling challenge.
“For me, there is a lot of lifting, up and down ladders, up over walls, rolling out hoses and carrying 80kg dummies. But our buck out there that I have been training with, I swear he is about 150kg and heavier when it rains!” Declan joked.
Declan will be competing across four stages, each of which has to be completed within five minutes with a 10-minute break between each stage. The difficulty levels increase with each stage.
James’ cycle race will see him zip around a 22km course.
“I have been a member of Castlebar Cycling Club for the last 10 years and have raced with the club and trained with the club. I feel like I am well prepared for that side of things.”
He is also taking on the driving challenge around a technical course.
“I’m driving HGVs for the last 20 years so I don’t think I have any fears on that front!” he laughed.
Declan and James hope their participation will shine a light on the vital work that the fire service does in Mayo. They are devising a plan to bring an Irish version of the competition to the county upon their return.
“That would be an opportunity for the public to see what we do and what we are capable of doing. I think it would probably be a good vehicle for recruitment into the fire service which is proving to be a challenge at the moment,” said James.
“If people see that there is an opportunity to compete and show their skills it could attract new recruits,” he added.
“We feel like it’s already working. The reaction we have got from people in town so far has been amazing,” said Declan.
