In the heart of the community!
Athleague/Tremane defibrillator group was established in 2016 and is a not for profit organisation that provides CPR training in the community on a voluntary basis.
CPR is used when a person is in cardiac arrest and early CPR is crucial to give the person the best chance of survival.
The secret to commencing CPR early is to have people in the community trained and who are willing to respond when required. Currently, the group has a list of 49 volunteers who are trained to deal with a cardiac arrest and this early intervention is very important until the ambulance service arrives.
Of the 49 volunteers on their list, 36 have been trained directly by the group. The remainder are people who have CPR training completed through other providers, mainly their occupation, for example nurses, ambulance staff and physiotherapists.
Training is carried out every two years and their instructors are affiliated to the Irish Heart Foundation and the American Heart Association and they themselves are recertified every two years to ensure their teaching is up to the highest standards. They also own a selection of training aids i.e. manikins and trainer defibrillators to ensure the volunteers are trained to the best possible standard.
As well as the CPR training provided, the group also own and maintain six defibrillators in the community that are accessible in the event of an emergency.
These defibrillators require regular maintenance to ensure they are in perfect working order at all times. This maintenance includes the replacement of the defibrillation pads every two years, regardless if they were used in an emergency or not. The batteries, although having a lifespan of between five and seven years, are a costly item to replace when they reach their expiry date. The defibrillators are also checked on a monthly basis by local volunteers and any issues are reported to the committee to have them rectified.
Already this year, the group have spent over €800 on the replacement of the pads and over €300 on a new battery that had reached its expiry date.
To help them to continue to provide their training and keep their defibrillators maintained, they are having a fundraising day on Sunday, August 20th.
The day is based on a number of healthy activities to get people out and about, get a bit of exercise and meet neighbours and friends.
The day starts with a 5km walk at 12 noon from Athleague Community Centre. Registration takes place from 11 am and refreshments will be served afterwards. Please be aware that the walk is on a public road and for safety reasons, all those taking part should wear a hi viz vest. There will be stewards on the route on the day and all instructions will be given before the start.
The cost to enter the walk is €10 per person, €15 per couple or a family of three or more is €20.
The second part of the day is using the local amenities of the River Suck and the Suck Valley way by means of a swim and a walk.
At 3 pm, a swim starts from Castlecoote, starting at Castlecoote Stores to Athleague, a distance of approximately 7.5km (€20 entry).
Along this route, another swim starts at 4 pm from Castlestrange Bridge, 3km approximately (€15 entry).
Finally, at 4.30 a group will be starting from ‘Rushes Bridge’ to Athleague, 1.5km approximately (€10 entry).
The aim is for everyone to finish at the Angling Centre in Athleague at the same time so there are plenty of options for everyone’s swimming ability.
For safety reasons, tow floats must be used for the swim and kayakers will be in attendance on the routes.
Registration takes place in the Angling Centre from 2 pm and refreshments will be served afterwards. For further information or to confirm your attendance please call Adrian on 087 9460908 before Thursday, 17th of August.
While the swim is taking place, there is also a Suck Valley Way Walk from Castlecoote to Athleague, starting at 3 pm. Registration will take place in both Athleague Angling Centre from 2 pm and Castlecoote outside Castlecoote Stores from 2.30 pm and entry costs the same as the 5km walk, also with refreshments afterwards.
To finish the day off, there is music in the Bridge House from 7-10 pm with local musician, Kenneth McCormack. Everyone is welcome to attend.
For further details on any of the events or to donate to the defibrillator group, please contact Adrian on 087 9460908 or Paula on 086 1016794.
You can also find them on Idonate at Athleague/Tremane Defibrillator Group.
