The Order of St John of Jerusalem is one of the oldest institutions of Western and Christian civilisation. Present in Palestine in around 1050, it is a lay religious Order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. Its 12,000 members include Professed Friars and others who have made vows of obedience. The other Knights and Dames are lay members, devoted to the exercise of Christian virtue and charity. What distinguishes the Knights of Malta is their commitment to reaching their spiritual perfection within the Church and to expending their energies serving the poor and the sick. The cadets
Where did it all start
Richard de Clare
The establishment
The Grand Master
The official inauguration
The cadets are the junior members of the ambulance corps; they range in age from 10 to 15. They participate in most of the duties covered by the unit, get involved in first aid competitions, and are part of a proficiency scheme aimed at self-improvement. The cadets are a large part of any unit, and most cadets usually go on into the senior unit once they reach 16. They are all trained in basic first aid, with opportunites to do further courses such as home nursing. They are also involved in many social events such as supervised discos, weekends away, football tournaments, etc. The cadet unit is open for anyone to join - just contact your nearest unit.
It is not possible to put an exact date on the foundation of the Order of Malta, but we do know that Italian merchants from the City of Amafi had by 1080 established a house of refuge for poor pilgrims under the wall of the Abbey of St. Mary in Jerusalem. The refuge was dedicated to St. John the Baptist. After the success of the First Crusade several pilgrims, including Blessed Gerard decided to remain in Jerusalem and devote their lives to the service of t he poor and the sick. A code of conduct was drawn up and they organised themselves into a religious body. In a Papal Bull issued on February 15th 1113 Pope Pascal II sanctioned the establishment of the Order.
Richard de Clare
The Order was first introduced into Ireland by Richard de Clare, otherwise known as Strongbow. His family had made very generous donations to the Order in Wales and in 1174 he donated lands at Kilmainham, Dublin where a priory was established. The Knights of St. John, as they were known, flourished in Ireland until 1540 when King Henry VIII suppressed the monasteries. He confiscated the lands and possessions of the twenty three establishments of the Order then in existence in Ireland. Nearly four hundred years later the Grand Master agreed to the return of the Order to Ireland and approval was given to the established of An Irish National Association in 1933
The establishment of the Irish Ambulance Corps took place following a conversation at an afternoon tea party given by the Marquees Mac Swiney K.M. in Jury.s Hotel, which was then situated in Dame Street, Dublin. The Marquees explained to Doctor Charles Conor O'Malley, a Galway physician, that the Knights of Malta were bound by their statutes to engage in humanitarian works and that he would like the Irish Knights to take up First Aid. The St. John's Ambulance Brigade was already was already well established in Dublin, Cork, and Belfast. The Marquees therefore thought the only obvious gap in the market was in Connacht and he invited Dr. O.Malley to start a First Aid service in Galway City. The invitation was readily accepted. It is difficult not to be amused today by what were considered to be pressing problems at the time. A meeting was arranged with the Minister for Local Government to get the volunteers to wear uniforms and the Commissioner of the GardaÍ was informed, incase local GardaÍ might suspect that political activities were afoot. Consideration was given to bringing a well known Professor of Medicine from Dublin to examine the first class of recruits.
The Grand Master was kept informed of all developments. Fourteen men were considered to be the ideal number to form a Unit, made up of a sergeant, a corporal and three stretcher parties of four men each. The first recorded duties performed by the new Galway Unit took place in the Spring of 1938 at football and hurling matches, and a party of Volunteers assisted at Knock Shrine on May 8th, 1938.
The official inauguration took place in the Great Southern Railway Hotel, Galway on May 12th, 1938 in the presence of the Marquees Mac Swiney, Dr. O.Malley, Bishop Brown, the Mayor and other dignitaries. Unfortunately the new uniforms were not ready on time. Immediately after the inauguration enquires were received from Belfast, Killarney, and Dublin to have Units established. Galway established a ladies. unit in Autumn of 1938 with the intention of carrying out of social works among the poor. The first uniform for the men was delivered in January 1939.