Independent People talks to Order of Malta's Mark Finlay

By Olga Aughey

From his work with the National Ambulance Service, to his key role with the Order of Malta, Mark Finlay has made caring for others the central part of his life

“It is a high pressure job. Fatalities and accidents are part and parcel of it. But there are mundane tasks too, it’s not all trauma and crawling into cars upside down.”

Mark Finlay is the regional director of the Order of Malta for the midlands region, and a paramedic in the National Ambulance Service for the last 21 years.

The father of four was born in Leicester, England, and moved to Athlone with his family when he was a sweet sixteen-year-old.

Caring was always an integral part of his nature. Joining the St John’s Ambulance Corps at the tender age of eight, this ultimately formed the basis for his life’s framework.

“There are eight regions in the country and the midlands is the second biggest outside of Dublin. Dublin covers 20 areas, while the midlands Order covers Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Laois, all of Tipperary and County Kildare,” explains Mark.

“I’m just shy of 30 years with the Order. I started in the Athlone unit and I was in charge in Athlone for 21 years. I made assistant regional director three years ago, and regional director in January.

“I joined St John’s Ambulance Corps in Leicester as a cadet, and when we moved to Ireland, I became a member of the Red Cross as well as the Civil Defence.

“The Red Cross was disbanded and five of us moved and founded the Order of Malta in Athlone in 1985. There had originally been a unit here in the 1940s, but that petered out. We still have some photos of the members in 1947.”

Mark’s parents moved the family of four from England when he was 16, and he attended school in the Community College, or the Vocational School as it was then.

“I did the Leaving, and a year’s Cert Course, and then I went to the RTC as it was, to pursue a chef’s career. I did five months there and decided it wasn’t for me. I then started working as an attendant in St Vincent’s Hospital for ten years. I joined the Ambulance Service and got my diploma from UCD.”

As a paramedic with the National Ambulance Service, Mark meets and deals with all situations, from the harrowing to the beauty of delivering of a new life into the world.

“You can be taught the skills but deep down you really need the gift of the gab - to console people. Being involved in some of the voluntary organisations really gives you a good sense of whether you are cut out for the job or not. When you are one-to-one with a patient - some people are either cut out for it or they’re not, it’s as simple as that.”

Back from the brink

What stands out for Mark is bringing someone back from the brink of death. “We’ve had cardiac saves where we literally have brought a patient back from the brink. What keeps this job interesting is that each patient is different.They might have similar symptoms but a very different outcome can occur.

“I’ve had a few hairy moments in my time, from road accidents to paediatric calls. But the most outstanding ones would have to be the cardiac arrest patients, when you get the patient back. You can do a lot of instructive lessons and activities, but when you meet the thing in real life it is a whole other story.And to run into these patients again, full of life and out and about, that is the best feeling of all.

“It is a high pressure job. Fatalities and accidents are part and parcel of it. But there are mundane tasks too, it’s not all trauma and crawling into cars upside down. The Order of Malta, while still within the same field as his “daytime job”, is a little different and is how Mark enjoys his downtime. “We cover different events and concerts and the craic goes on. The people that you meet, the banter, it’s a great outlet.”

One of those events was the national Order of Malta pilgrimage to Lourdes. 'It's my 16th time to go. It’s a great place. It puts everything into perspective when you’re there. From the different patients you meet, hearing different life stories and experiences, it just puts things in perspective.”