An Cosantóir

history | 27 Cadet (later Lt) Ron McPartland in the Officers Mess, Baldonnel (Comdt Jeremiah O'Connor is on Ron's left). On the way to Mullagh, however, they met a local man and his wife in their car and they informed Ron that the aeroplane had crashed some distance away and he feared the worst for Comdt O'Connor. He was shocked at this as he believed he had seen the aircraft in controlled flight during his parachute descent. After a very welcome cup of tea from the ser- geant's wife a phone call from Mullagh Garda Station to Baldonnel confirmed that the aircraft had returned to base and landed safely. An Air Corps car was sent to Mullagh and brought Cadet McPart- land to Gormanston Aerodrome where he was later flown by Chipmunk to Baldonnel. The ejection seat and canopy were recovered about three miles from where Cadet McPartland had landed. Eight months later, on 26 January 1962, James Martin, (L/R): Michael Traynor, Major Gen Ralph James (D COS OPS), Ronald McPartland and Brig Gen Paul Fry at Baldonnel. Photo by Cpl Henderson (105 Sqn) He saw a man on a donkey and cart in a bog nearby but when he tried to attract his attention, the man looked up and immediately drove his cart away without looking back. The cadet touched down, rolled over a few times and sat up uninjured in a heap of parachute silk on the wet ground. He had a brief glimpse of the man and his cart leaving the area in considerable haste. Having gathered the billowing parachute and placed it in a bundle the cadet made his way across the fields towards a farmhouse with smoke coming from its chimney. Describing the scene following his rescue, Cadet McPart- land said: "I knocked on the half-open door through which I could see two elderly men drinking tea. They looked at me in disbelief (I was still wearing my helmet) and one of them half rose and blessed himself. The other asked me if I was a space- man. I replied I was merely a member of the Irish Air Corps who had to leave my aeroplane in a hurry. They initially de- clined to drive me to the nearest Garda station and indicated the direction of the town of Mullagh 'over the hill'. After I had travelled a few hundred yards across the field I was called back and asked if payment would be made for the journey to Mullagh and after my assurance that it would, the house- holder, Mr Muldoon drove me to the local Garda station." aged 69 years, hosted a dinner at the Dorchester Hotel, London, to celebrate the saving of 500 lives with his ejection seat, which was the culmination of 17 years of development work. The newly-commissioned of- ficer, Lieutenant Ron McPartland attended and was singled out for special attention by James Martin who expressed his delight that: "The ejection seat designed by a man from the 'wee North' had saved the life of a fellow-Irishman from the Free-State." The ejection of Ron McPartland is listed as number 430 in the records of lives of air crew saved worldwide by the Martin-Baker seats during an emergency ejection. Since then this incredible invention has saved literally thousands of lives around the world. The current number of ejections using Martin- Baker ejection seats is 7,364. To date Ron McPartland is the only pilot to eject from an Irish Air Corps aircraft. To mark this historic occasion, presenta- tions were made at Casement Aerodrome on 1 September 2011 on behalf of the Irish Air Corps and Martin-Baker to Ron McPart- land. The attendance included Major Gen Ralph James (D COS OPS), Brig Gen Paul Fry (GOC Air Corps) and Brig Gen Jerry O'Connor (Retd) along with fellow retired officers and colleagues of Capt Ronald McPartland (Retd). Martin-Baker Mark 3 ejection seat as used by Cadet Ron McPartland THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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