Limerick parish welcomes new defibrillators
THE COMMUNITY of Loughill and Ballyhahill is delighted to see three defibrillators in the local parish.
The defibrillators, located in both national schools in the parish and outside the Knockdown Arms Bar were funded by the local text alert committee.
According to Declan Hallet from Loughill the idea of getting three new defibrillators came from the local wren boys group who succeeded in obtaining funding for a defibrillator at Kilteery Pier in the area.
Kilteery Pier became a popular destination with members of the community during the Covid lockdowns.
“Unfortunately, an elderly gentleman passed away in the water there last year. The area would have been popular with the children in the junior wren boys group,” Mr Hallet said.
“When we asked them what we should do with the money they mentioned installing a defibrillator at the pier.”
The money for this was funded after there was a drive by the text alert committee in the area to gather as many annual text alert subscriptions for the first few weeks of the year.
The drive was successful and funding for the text alert for the coming year was easily obtained. The surplus was enough to fund the three defibrillators and heated units.
There is now a total of nine defibrillators in the Loughill and Ballyhahill parish, seven of which are outdoors and accessible to the public.
“The initiative of having nine fully functional defibrillators in a small parish would not have been possible without the support and generosity of the community and shows the value there is to be gained in paying text alert subscriptions on time,” Mr Hallet added.
A special mention to the driving force behind it all, our youthful musicians whose thoughtfulness on a cold January evening triggered a response that may yet save lives in our parish for years to come,” he added.
Mr Hallet says that the next item on the agenda for the Community Text Alert Committee is to organise a defibrillator training day with the view of setting up a voluntary defibrillator group.
“It is envisaged that when this group is fully functional that there will be trained members on duty 24/7 via a rostered rota.”