CRITICAL, Ireland’s leading emergency medical charity, has announced the appointment of Alan Gallagher to its board.
Alan Gallagher has more than 16 years of communications, engagement and public affairs experience in the Irish health sector including with the Medical Council of Ireland, RSCI, University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).
He also worked across the globe for an international not-for-profit organisation focused on epilepsy, and for a member of the European Parliament. He is now Head of Communications, Research and Innovation and a member of the senior management team at the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA).
CRITICAL is headquartered in Limerick and has a growing network of more than 300 responders active across Ireland who are alerted to life-threatening emergencies by the National Ambulance Service.
Its volunteers include doctors and consultants equipped with emergency response vehicles and high-tech equipment; Community First Responder (CFR) groups; as well off-duty paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
CRITICAL volunteers have responded to 2,092 incidents and emergencies during the first nine months of this year, surpassing the full year total of 2,022 calls attended during 2025.
Speaking on his appointment to the board, Alan Gallagher said, “In a healthcare emergency, accident or an injury minutes can matter, and in some cases those minutes can be the difference between life and death. CRITICAL is supporting a team of dedicated volunteers in communities across the country in providing a rapid response. In joining the board as a trustee, I hope I can play a small part in supporting the development and growth of CRITICAL, to enable them to support the community first responders, off duty paramedics and doctors who respond to emergencies as part of CRITICAL and fulfil that vital mission, ‘to save lives’. I look forward to working with my fellow trustees, and David and his team, and to see CRITICAL grow and make a greater impact in even more communities.”
Paul Pearson, Chairperson of the CRITICAL board added, “Alan brings his significant experience across health sector engagements and is a valuable addition to our board as CRITICAL continue to seek formal funding arrangements to support the provision of an increasing number of voluntary emergency response doctors who are available to be tasked to 999/112 calls. Our volunteers are responding to more emergencies than ever before, which shows the impact they are having in their communities across Ireland.”