Winning year for Ballina Order of Malta
Ballina Order of Malta has paid tribute to its members who emerged from the National Senior First Aid Competitions with several top awards on September 19, including four first places.
Their success was even sweeter because the prestigious annual 2026 national contest took place in Ballina this year, hosted by the highly-respected local ambulance corps of the Order of Malta.
The activities were held across various indoor and outdoor venues around Ballina, on a day when the organisational skills of the host town were toasted by the hundreds of competitors and spectators from Ireland and abroad who took part, with the fine weather also a plus.
Ballina Order of Malta, which is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, was placed in top position in the Overall Team Award, as well as in the First Aid Responder (FAR) Team Test and Overall Team Attitude Test.
The local team came joint first with Kilkenny in the Assisted Activities of Daily Living (AADL) National Cadet Team category. Adding to this impressive tally were the Ballina members who scored well in the FAR Individual and AADL tests.
Irish contestants were joined by teams from Poland, Romania and Ukraine who competed in the Best International Team category, with Poland coming out on top.
