Flying doctors they aren't, but flying ahead of ambulances they hope to be. Their wings? The wheels of an 1100 cc Honda Pan European motorcycle, which has a top speed of 120 m.p.h.
Yes, the west may not have Dublin's traffic problem yet, but speed is the priority in setting up the State's first responder motorcycle unit.
Located at the Galway Ambulance Base, the unit currently comprises two trained personnel, Emmet Forkan and James O'Neill, who have completed a six-week course in motorcycle handling at the Garda College in Templemore.
They have been given machines at a basic cost of around £12,000, with an additional £3,000 for special requirements such as customised panniers for their medical equipment.
Their official title is "emergency medical technician" as they don't have full paramedic status, and they hope to serve a geographical area extending throughout Galway city and county. Their aim is to reach and give initial assistance to a casualty before an ambulance can get through the difficult Galway traffic gridlock.
The Templemore course gave them the skills necessary to drive a powerful machine at high speed under stress and to cope with the additional hazards of west-coast weather. The Western Health Board secured sponsorship for the initiative, and hopes to have the unit at work early in 2000.
Emmet Forkan displayed his prowess at the recent Galway Science and Technology Fair and took a (low-speed) cruise down Galway's Shop Street to the bemusement of some Saturday morning pedestrians.
"It was a useful exercise to see how one manoeuvres in a crowd," he told The Irish Times. "I think I attracted more attention than I expected."
The new service focuses attention again on the campaign by several west-coast general practitioners to provide a helicopter emergency medical service in the region. Such a service is still being considered by a Department of Health committee.
Its inclusion in the current marine rescue network was ruled out in a recent consultancy review of the Irish Marine Emergency Service.
However, Dr Marion Broderick, Aran Island GP and one of the supporters of a helicopter service, has long maintained that members of the helicopter service at Shannon, who have already undergone paramedic training, should be allowed to use their skills on emergency runs.