Jockeys Emergency Fund pledges substantial donation to Cork based air ambulance 

The North Cork based Irish Community Air Ambulance has received a donation of €50,000 from the Jockeys Emergency Fund (JEF). 

The donation, which JEF has committed to making annually for the next four years, is in recognition of the great work that the air ambulance does for horse racing and the wider community. 

The total amount committed is €250,000.

The Irish Community Air Ambulance offers a vital lifesaving service, bringing advanced paramedics from the National Ambulance Service to the roadside, farm or home within minutes of the incident.

Most critically, the Air Ambulance can then transfer the casualty to the hospital that best suits their needs. 

The organisation also has a network of ground-based Rapid Response Vehicles staffed by volunteer Critical Care Doctors and community-based GPs who respond to emergencies in their communities. 

It currently relies heavily on fundraising and corporate philanthropy. 

Each mission costs an average of €3,500 and in 2020, 490 missions were carried out which cost the charity over €1.7m.

Commenting on the making of the donation, Philip McLernon on behalf of the Trustees of the JEF said: “We are delighted to be able to make this donation to the Irish Community Air Ambulance Service and to commit further donations over the next four years. They do amazing work and have provided great assistance to racing in the past few years.” 

CEO of Irish Community Air Ambulance Mícheál Sheridan commented: “We are delighted to receive this donation from the Jockeys Emergency Fund and welcome the five-year funding commitment that has been made to us. Knowing that €250,000 is being donated over the next five years is so important to us as a young organisation. In 2020 and already this year we have been tasked to many horse racing-related incidents so we are pleased and proud to be a beneficiary of this funding commitment.”