Antrim hurler recalls the day defibrillator saved his father’s life

Neil McManus answered the door to Joe Burns on a Saturday afternoon in 2015. The Antrim and Cushendall hurler was asked, “where’s number 12?” Before he could answer, the caller “took one look at my face,” asked “is your father all right?” and “brushed past”.

Hugh McManus had taken unwell when playing golf. His family realised there was something wrong when he flopped in a rarely used room. His son recalls: “He lay down on the sofa and we knew that was very strange for him. He has his one seat in the house and if he is not there he is in bed.”

Having called an ambulance, Neil hadn’t expected this first responder, who saved his 59-year-old father’s life while the emergency services rushed to the scene.

Burns lived beside Cushendall hurling club, which had an automated external defibrillator (AED) on which he had been fully trained, and hurried to the house. “It has to be within five minutes of me making the call,” according to McManus.

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‘Incredible’

“It was incredible how quickly he got to work. Joe is a local crew member of the RNLI in Cushendall and he got training through them and without him that day there is no way my father would still be there.

“The ambulance was there really quickly, within about three-quarters of an hour. We are about an hour from Belfast so they were making good time to get down into the glens. “We were just incredibly fortunate as a family. There was a second responder as well, Hugh McIlwaine.

“We were so lucky. How many times have these guys gone to houses to try to revive somebody, and try to save a life, and not been able to? I think it was the first call in something like five years that those two men went to and they saved somebody. Usually it’s a different outcome.”

Semi-final

The following day, at a county semi-final against Loughgiel, McManus witnessed another intervention.

“Liam Watson [an Antrim team-mate] – his father took a heart attack while we were playing, and an AED was used in Dunloy to revive him.

“The match was abandoned, obviously, because of what happened, but we met that night because his father, when he came into the hospital, was rolled into the bed next to my father, so there was great crack that evening.”

McManus was speaking in support of the GAA’s drive to equip all clubs with AEDs. His career is also in the health industry, as he works for Andor, whose scientific cameras were used in trials of the Pfizer Covid vaccine.

Colin Regan, the GAA’s community and health manager, said that 42 lives have been saved by AEDs located in GAA clubs. “We’ve worked on a bespoke fundraising platform for clubs, who can also avail of a deduction of €995 if they register and secure their AED through the “Community Heart” programme. They’re not just for GAA members; they’re for everyone in the community.”

Club members can find out more information and look up their club to place a donation at: savealife.communityheartprogram.com/gaa