This article is from page 31 of the 2007-11-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
KILKISHEN and O’Callaghan’s Mills people can rest easier in their beds knowing that there are now two defibrillators on hand should they be required in an emergency.
Kilkishen woman Mary Gallagh- er, along with Mike Hogan, Martin McMahon and Oliver Donnellan in O’Callaghan’s Mills, were the teams behind acquiring the machines. Training for the crews of volunteers who will look after them will begin on November 23.
Locals took part in a sponsored walk and the Bank of Ireland in Tulla sponsored €1,000 towards the machines, as one of their employees
lived in Kilkishen. The two machines, plus training, had to be funded to the tune of roughly €6,000. Between the walk and the bank’s gift, this money was raised.
The machines, when used by a properly trained person, can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency while waiting for some professional medical help to arrive.
“These machines are being put in place in a lot of communities, espe- cially where there are GAA grounds. People are concerned given the number of tragic deaths that there have been among young men playing sports,” said Gallagher.
Kilkishen and the Mills have be-
come the most recent among Clare communities to acquire the life-sav- ing equipment.
Mountshannon also recently pur- chased a defibrillator, as did Scariff, where concerns have been repeatedly voiced about the lack of a 24-hour ambulance service.
A present, the defibrillator teams are on the lookout for a central loca- tion for the machines and are looking forward to getting training in their use underway.
“It’s a two-night course and we are initially looking for 15 people in each area. No-one will be on call the whole time — we’ll draw up a rota once we have our volunteers,” added CRUE Ta toe
People volunteering for duty will also have a refresher course from the Red Cross every six months and, should any volunteer need to drop out or take time out, this won’t be a problem.
“The money we raise will initially cover the cost of training 15 people but we will be training more down the road,” said Gallagher.
Anyone interested in volunteering for the service should contact any of the organisers and bring a passport photograph of themselves along on the night for training .
A venue for the training course has yet to be decided and notices will then be posted locally when this has been done.