First Aid Matters in the Great Irish Outdoors

This is a guest blog post by Catherine Kelleher



We are delighted to guest post about the importance of First Aid on “Tommy’s Outdoors”

Here in Ireland many of us enjoy outdoor activities from walking, hiking or biking to camping to adventure sports.

There is so much that our beautiful countryside here in Ireland offers. Getting away from it all is only a short drive away for most of us.

However many outdoor lovers do not consider being prepared in advance for an accident or an injury that could very easily occur whilst enjoying outdoor pursuits?

Us humans nowadays have busy lives – so much to do and so little time, so we don’t always prepare the way we should when it comes to factoring in first aid as a precaution in outdoor pursuits.

Whilst first aid is not a glamorous consideration it is an important one.

Accidents simply happen in life from minor to serious and in split seconds.

There is no point in adopting the attitude that “it won’t happen to me”.

Injuries can occur in a wide variety of ways in the great outdoors, and in split seconds.

Slip and fall/trip accidents are commonplace leading to injury ranging from minor to severe (fractures and broken bones and head injuries).

  • Muscle strains
  • Ankle sprains
  • Bad cuts and scrapes
  • Bad cuts-bleeding
  • Bad sunburn in the summer
  • or Hypothermia in the winter

Remember in the Irish Outdoors:

  • You are not exactly near a doctor or a hospital!
  • You may have no phone signal!
  • help can take a while to arrive

Prevention & Preparedness Matters
Planning properly for your outdoor adventures can minimize risks that are always involved with any outdoor activity. Although you can never really be 100-percent prepared for every potential situation that could happen, you can greatly reduce the risk of minor injuries turning into serious ones by having a first aid kit to help you treat an injury or sickness until help arrives or until you can get back to civilisation.

Aside from dealing with cuts, scrapes, blisters, muscle sprains and other minor injuries, a first aid kit helps to help keep an injuries stable until medical help becomes available.

First aid products help by preventing a situation getting worse until you can get proper medical assistance.

When medical assistance isn’t available, it’s especially important to know how to treat an injury. One simple blog post cannot teach you all of this but check this resource out online and download the PDF: because it’s a wealth of information

Wilderness and Remote First Aid – American Red Cross

How We Can Help
On our Website at Shop First Aid Products, we offer a variety of First Aid Kits and a wide variety of First Aid Products.

We have been operating in the first aid and hygiene sector in Ireland for over 20 years as a wholly owned and run Irish Company.

At https://shopfirstaidproducts.com you can purchase a variety of first aid kits. Incentives for shopping online with us include: No VAT on online orders, and free delivery when you spend €80 or more.

If you have any questions we can be reached on 026-42512

Episode 30: Digital Detox with Orla Dempsey


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I have talked about the importance of the outdoors for mental health and wellbeing on many occasions. This blog post comes to mind as well as podcast episodes 10 and 25. I am still blown away by the interest and feedback on the subject. In this episode we return to the topic. My guest, Orla Dempsey is a Life and Career Coach. During our conversation we talk about mud runs, how to control day to day stress levels and the importance of unplugging every now and then. Unplugging is also known as digital detox. If after listening to this episode you want more information, you can get in touch with Orla by visiting her website at orladempseycoaching.ie

Happy New Year and Some Housekeeping Items

The new year has started and all the fuss and distractions of the Christmas holidays are behind us. In this short blog, I would like to address a few housekeeping items as we enter 2019. Firstly, I would like to draw your attention to the excellent episode of the podcast, Forestry and Native Woodlands with Ciaran Nugent. The episode was published right after Christmas, so I’m afraid that many of you might have missed it. It should be appealing, not only for people interested in forestry and its history in Ireland, but also for those interested in shaping forestry policy for the future. I also think that hikers and hunters would benefit from giving it a listen, as it will help them to better understand the landscape they interact with.

We are going to continue to publish the podcast every other Wednesday even though I heard from a few of you, that the episodes are being published too often. That is a little surprising to me as I would ultimately like to settle into a weekly schedule. So, I’d be grateful if you would provide your thoughts on this in the comments below. For now, I am planning to publish no less than 30 episodes of the podcast this year. That, of course, means that I will be switching to a weekly schedule a few times, just like I did last year.

There are also a few other things that I am planning for this year. In the coming weeks, Tommy’s Outdoors website will undergo a refresh. The extent of it will depend on many factors, but the goal will be to improve the consistency of the look and feel. It also looks like it’s time to give the Tommy’s Outdoors logo a little facelift. My graphic designer will be delighted to hear that! Finally, I am planning to put together the very first Tommy’s Outdoors Live podcast. The final form and shape of that event is still very much a work in progress, but if you have any suggestions, or perhaps are interested in being in the audience, please leave a comment.

I wish you a great new year and many unforgettable moments in the outdoors.

Episode 29: Forestry and Native Woodlands with Ciaran Nugent


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There is a lot of talk recently about continuous cover forestry, timber plantations and development of native woodlands. I had an opportunity to explore the subject with my guest, Forestry Inspector and Fire Management Officer in the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine, Ciaran Nugent. In my opinion, this is one of the most educational episodes of the podcast. During our conversation, we talk about the history of Irish forestry, its current direction, wildlife conservation and the delicate balance between plants and animals in the environment. We also spend some time discussing fires, their role in an ecosystem and fire prevention.

Tommy’s Outdoors end of year summary

The year is coming to an end, so it is a good time for a quick review. Even though Tommy’s Outdoors podcast online presence reaches back to late 2016, this is the first year that I did it right.

In 2018 I launched Tommy’s Outdoors website and Tommy’s Outdoors YouTube channel. I established a regular schedule for publishing podcast episodes and blog posts. I discussed a wide variety of topics ranging from hunting and angling to the benefits of the outdoors for mental health, from cycling and running to flying drones and horseback riding, from marine conservation to the development of native woodlands, and the list goes on and on.

I am especially thankful for all of my regular listeners and readers who engage with Tommy’s Outdoors content. Your voice is being heard and your feedback is invaluable in developing the Tommy’s Outdoors brand. Please keep your comments coming!

In the coming year I will continue to work tirelessly to bring you the best information and discussions about any and all outdoors related topics. I would like to thank all of you for suggesting guests for future episodes. Rest assured that I will do my best to get them on the podcast.

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
See you in the outdoors!

Episode 28: Christmas Special with Susan Baughman


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Christmas is coming so I decided to record a special episode of the podcast to mark the occasion. You might recognize my guest, Susan Baughman from episode 7 of the podcast. Last year Susan was a big help to the podcast and I thought it would be only fair to have her on again and chat for awhile. During our discussion we talk a lot about photography, a little about horse racing and a tiny bit about other topics. It is a fun and relaxing episode, so I hope you will enjoy it. Merry Christmas!

Podcasting controversy

Dear friends, it finally happened! I knew it would at some point, so I really shouldn’t be surprised. Someone who initially agreed to be my guest decided to pull out because he didn’t like one of the subjects previously discussed on the podcast. People are different and have different motivations for their actions. I respect his decision but thought this would be a good moment to make a short statement about the purpose of the podcast.

Tommy’s Outdoors is dedicated to everything outdoors. We discuss not only specific outdoor activities, like cycling and angling, but also issues related in any way to the outdoors, such as outdoors safety or wildlife conservation. The podcast is meant to be a conversational and educational platform. I welcome guests from all walks of life with a variety of different views. I encourage them to express their ideas. The more the merrier, as that will provide listeners with a wide spectrum of opinions on many different, often complex, subjects.

Being my guest doesn’t mean that you agree with or support the opinions expressed in any previous episodes of the podcast. Instead, it gives you an opportunity and platform to express your own views even if they are completely opposed to mine. That is okay and it has already happened more than once. I’m happy to have my opinions challenged and I welcome the discussion. This is how progress is made, this is how we get a better understanding of complex issues, and this how we enrich and educate listeners.

Thank you for your continuous support and I hope you will enjoy coming episodes of the podcast!