St. Patricks GAC Cullyhanna AED fundraiser

A defibrillator can make the difference between life and death. Defibrillation within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest increases the chance of survival by 70%. In fact every minute defibrillation is delayed the chances of survival decrease by 7-10 %

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests show a significant increase in survival percentages for cardiac arrest victims that received an AED shock. 38% of victims shocked with an AED survived hospital discharge whereas those who received CPR only survived 9% of the time.

According to a recent survey (March 2021) 42 lives across Ireland have been saved by AEDs located on GAA facilities being used on members of their communities.

Let that sink in!

Our aim is to have a situation where we have an AED that is accessible, charged and that we have enough trained members of the community able to operate it. The AED will be placed in a central location within our grounds, outside in a heated box. It will serve not only our GAC grounds, community centre but also the general public.

A small group of members from St. Patricks GAC led by Pauline Shields and Charmaine Rooney are planning a mountain and sea fundraiser to procure an AED for our club. We have at least 2 members of our club with diagnosed heart conditions currently but unfortunately a lot of us have conditions undiagnosed.

The group will embark on a 5hr trek up Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in the North of Ireland on the 5th November and then brave the cold sea in Newcastle afterwards.

If you would like to join the girls you will be more than welcome, just get in touch.

We are asking you all to dig deep and support this worthy cause to provide potentially life saving equipment. None of us know the day that this might save our life or that of a loved one.