The middle-aged St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield club member was watching his son play an U21 hurling championship clash with east Clare side Clonlara at Wolfe Tones GAA club in Shannon when he collapsed unexpectedly.
Two nurses and several other bystanders quickly ran to the man’s aid. One nurse determined that the man had suffered a cardiac arrest and sent another person to the clubhouse to raise the alarm and find a defibrillator.
The nurses, one from each club, promptly began to administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and used the defibrillator to revive the man. Soon afterwards, ambulance paramedics arrived at the scene and began treating the patient.
St Joseph’s club secretary Mr Dan O’Connor said: “We are very grateful that there were so many people there to help but we have to compliment the Wolfe Tones club for having such a vital piece of lifesaving equipment when it was needed. Having a defibrillator in a club, as we have ourselves, is absolutely essential and every club in the country should have one.”
The Wolfe Tones club was presented with their defibrillator almost two years ago after money was raised by the students of the nearby St Conaire’s primary school.
Groundsman Mike Kelly, one of those trained to used the defibrillator, said: “I was down at the dressing room end working on the scoreboard when someone came running up looking for the defibrillator. Ours is strategically located so that it can be quickly accessed from the bar area, the dressing rooms or any part of the club. I grabbed it and handed it over and two nurses carried out CPR on the man. It definitely saved that man’s life.”
