Cormac Remembered - five years on

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Good news mk, and there's no doubt that his death has given life to a good and growing number since.

[magickingdom]

sure was fear, just found the article... from the Corkman newspaper


GAA player's pitch heart emergency 'a wake-up call to all'

   

By MARIA HERLIHY

Thursday February 26 2009

THE importance of having a defibrillator and people who have training in CPR was brought home to all GAA clubs this week when a 22year-old Cullen man suddenly dropped to the ground while playing in a league game.

Cullen man Diarmuid O'Connell was described as "a fine, tall, strong boy" by a person who attended the game on Saturday evening in Castlemagner. But for the intervention of two team mates who, importantly, had training in CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation)and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) the situation could have been a lot worse.

Since October 2008 in the Cork region there has been five out of hospital survivals as a direct result of CPR and AED prior to an ambulance arriving to removing the patient to the hospital.

According to Bernard Flynn of the HSE, within the past five years they have provided training for 8,000 people in the Cork and Kerry region in CPR and AED.

"Without question, CPR is paramount for survival. We are aware of the situation in Castlemagner and were clearly delighted that the two boys who helped that young man knew CPR. It cannot be stressed enough but CPR plays a key role in survival," said Mr Flynn.

He said for anyone who is living with a person who has a known history of heart complaints then he strongly advised undergoing training in CPR. "Nobody knows when something could happen to another person but at least if a person has training in CPR then it's certainly a valuable start," he said.

The GAA club at Castlemagner has had a defibrillator (sponsored by Jerry Collins of Autoroller) at every game since 2007 and there are 10-12 people who are trained in its usage.

An AED defibrillator works by telling rescuers exactly what to do, using voice and visual prompts. It automatically analyses the electrical activity of the heart to determine if a shockable rhythm is present.

The popular belief is that a defibrillator is required to help re-start a heart that has stopped. But technically, that is not true. Defibrillators deliver electricity to the heart to restore a faulty heart rhythm, and this falls under the term 'sudden cardiac arrest'.

However, not all clubs have a defibrillator and it was said this week by the Millstreet referee, Denis Hickey, who oversaw the game at Castlemagner that it was "a wake up call to other clubs in the area who do not have a one."

"There was no doubt that through the intervention of the fellow players that by using CPR and the AED revived and kept the patient alive," said Mark Murphy, of National Safety & Training in Kanturk. He said that there seems to be "somewhat of a myth," that the use of an AED is complicated and confusing but this is not the case at all.

"What happened in Castlemagner should send out the signal to all clubs in the area, to get a defibrillator in place and to also get the all important CPR training," said an eye witness at the league game.

- MARIA HERLIHY

[5 Sams]

Just read the articles .....Fair play to McGeeney...while I always admired him as a footballer he has gone up loads in my opinion of him as a man when I heard what he did.

Those articles in the GL were a fitting tribute to Cormac 5 years on.....


Surprising revelations by Brendan McAnallen about the way they were treated by elements of the GAA and Sean Kelly in particular.....poor form all around.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Just read the articles .....Fair play to McGeeney...while I always admired him as a footballer he has gone up loads in my opinion of him as a man when I heard what he did.

Fully agree. His introversion/reticence does he himself no favours at times, when it's clear there's a very tender heart beating within.

[Tony Baloney]

Just read the articles .....Fair play to McGeeney...while I always admired him as a footballer he has gone up loads in my opinion of him as a man when I heard what he did.

Fully agree. His introversion/reticence does he himself no favours at times, when it's clear there's a very tender heart beating within.

I thought Valentine's Day was over for this year. It's getting a bit overwrought in here.

[5 Sams]

Whats the problem Tony? McGeeney has always come across as a dour, unsmiling, serious, robot type football machine......his gesture to the McAnallen family showed the other side of him....thats all I'm saying....lighten up ffs.

[Tony Baloney]

Whats the problem Tony? McGeeney has always come across as a dour, unsmiling, serious, robot type football machine......his gesture to the McAnallen family showed the other side of him....thats all I'm saying....lighten up ffs.

Oh I agree nobody could really be that dour. It was the tender heart line that made me

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

It was the tender heart line that made me

You really are such a bitch at times! 

[Lar Naparka]

As several others have already mentioned, time has flown by.
It seems such a short time ago since the news of Cormac's death broke. It was a big shock then and it's still hard to take in the enormity and finality of his sudden passing.
He was a fine sportsman and athlete and God alone knows what he might have achieved if cruel luck had not intervened.
God rest him and bring peace to his family and friends.

[Reillers]

5 years allready.
I remember the cousin up in Tyrone ringing me up first thing. Hard to believe then, hard to believe now.
I have upmost respect for that Tyrone team, so unified, unbreakable at this stage.
Puts a hell lot of things into perspective.

[Donagh]

Hard to believe it's five years already.

I don't think I've mentioned it on the Board before, but I was fairly friendly with Cormac for a relatively short period of time. We all know about his versatility on the football field but what always impressed me was how the high standards he was synonymous with in football reflected similarly high standards off the field. It's not often mentioned when people talk of Cormac but academically speaking, he was also a high achiever. It seemed that when he took something on he gave it 100%, unlike some others who bluff their way through life on the back of football.

I always remember chatting to him the Thursday before the '01 Ulster final and winding him up about some rubbish I'd read on here about the Tyrone boys planning a celebration in Clones with their cup haul for that year (u21, minor and senior - they hadn't won 2 of them at this stage) and his dismissive reaction almost made me feel ashamed for mentioning it - in essence I got the impression it wasn't the glory of being a winner but the challenge and discipline needed to be a winner that appealed to him.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

[Maguire01]

Got a very early morning marketing text from Gaelic Life about their coverage of this. Saturday is my GL day - i'll read it tomorrow.

[ONeill]

Great work by Declan Bogue on that article (or collection of articles). An up-and-coming journo worth keeping a cold eye on.

[longrunsthefox]

Great work by Declan Bogue on that article (or collection of articles). An up-and-coming journo worth keeping a cold eye on.

What's a cold eye? 

[ONeill]

Ben Bulben.