Athenry News & Views Spring 2026

Spring 2026

For years the brave members of Athenry Fire and Rescue responded to calls within the town, its surrounds and on the motorway from a cramped, old fashioned station in the middle of the town which had been in use for over six decades. Then, in 2021, a site just 2 minutes from the old station was purchased from the IDA and work commenced on what was to become the new state of the art €2.8 million home for our local heroes. The new site on the ring road allows for quicker response times to motorway incidents while leaving the station very much a part of the community of Athenry. The new station marks a new era for Athenry Fire and Rescue with huge upgrades in both scale and capabilities. The building feels ultra modern and features an appliance bay, watch room, equipment storage to ensure the service is constantly ready to deploy at a moment’s notice and a compressor room and a workshop to help maintain the huge range of equipment contained within the station. There is also a drying room, lecture room which helps with the ongoing education and training of the firefighters and dedicated training facilities out the back to ensure all members are constantly operating at as high a level as possible. One of the most modern features in the station is the availability of unmanned ground vehicles for remote firefighting and hazardous materials response. These enhance the station’s ability to manage high risk incidents more safely and effectively. The modern aesthetic as well as the built-for purpose facilities allow the highly trained members of Athenry Fire and Rescue to operate at the level necessary to keep the town, its surrounds and the motorway near Athenry safe 24/7. One of the main attractions of the new site and a huge upgrade over the previous one is the addition of a training tower behind the station. The capabilities this tower adds fill a huge gap in facilities which was evident in the older station.

Members of the Athenry Fire Service (from left) Michael Doherty, Alan Egan, Joey Burke, Peter Griffin, Gerry Cronnelly and Tony Hough.

are now free from the restraints of the old facility and operating out of one built for the future of firefighting and the future of Athenry. They now have the space, technology and infrastructure required to serve a developing town like Athenry, ensuring that when the call comes from one of us, day or night, they are prepared, equipped and ready for whatever they might face.

It allows firefighters to train for a much wider range of situations right here in Athenry which allows them to be more prepared for the wide range of situations they deal with every day. Station Officially opened on the 24th October 2024 The new state of the art 400m² facility cost around €2.8 million and was co-funded by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. A ceremony on the 15th of November 2024 saw the station opened by Anne Rabbitte and Albert Dolan with current and past members of the service in attendance to mark this historic occasion. At the ceremony, Chief Fire Officer for Galway City and County Gerry O’Malley said “This new facility will allow us to improve community fire safety and underpin the safety of the Athenry crew.” The new facility has been operational since the 24th of October 2024 and Athenry Fire and Rescue are already experiencing the huge upgrades that came along with it. The highly trained members of the service

Athenry’s Fire Service Station Officer Peter Griffin

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