This article is from page 3 of the 2006-07-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
SPEAKING for the first time since his dramatic brush with death last week, popular Lahinch businessman Odran O’Looney has paid tribute to a good Samaritan from Moy, Mary Harney and Davy Spillane.
Mr O’Looney fell while walking his dog near to a cliff about a mile south of Lahinch last Wednesday afternoon. A blow to the head left him temporally paralyzed, unable to move a muscle from the neck down and alone in an isolated area.
“The first thing that I thought when I saw my hand dropping in front of me was that this was it,” said Mr O’Looney.
“I couldn’t move but I was breathing and I could talk so I knew from my experience in the rescue services that I would be alright. I was never really worried because I have been in the emergency services for so long and was able to be calm about things.”
Luckily for Mr O’Looney, Moy farmer Joe Vaughan was on the beach at the time and heard his cries for help.
“I was conscious but I could not move,” continued Mr O’Looney. “We called my son who contacted Dr Michael Kelleher who was there in about five minutes. It was very fortunate that they have a phone mast up in Moy because I was able to get coverage from right under the cliff.”
As luck would have it, the Doolin Coastguard were doing training exercises locally that day and arrived to lend their assistance within ten minutes.
“The Doolin Coastguard were doing an exercise in Liscannor and, because of the extensive training that they go through, they knew exactly where to go,” said Mr O’Looney.
“Dr Kelleher was delighted with the assistance that the coastguard were able to give him. They were able to get me into a support stretcher and get me up from the rocks.”
The Irish Coastguard Helicopter based at Shannon was on the scene minutes later and airlifted Mr O’Looney to the Merlin Park Regional Hospital in Galway where his condition continues to improve.
“The last person who said goodbye to me as I was beng hoisted up on the helicopter was the musician Davy Spillane who is a member of the Doolin Coastguard,” he said. “everyone treated me so well. In my book Mary Harney has no problems at all with the accident and emergency services on offer.”