Defibrillator is stolen

A defibrillator which was only unveiled at the Merrymeeting Shopping Centre in July was stolen during Friday night and found dumped and damaged in Rathnew days later.

The piece of life-saving equipment has been sent back to the manufacturer to see if it can be repaired but Wicklow Community First Responders aren’t hopeful that the public AED can ever be used again.

‘It was found dumped and vandalised in the grounds of St Coen’s NS on Monday morning, just across the road from where it was stolen,’ said Anton Clancy of Wicklow Community First Responders.

‘ The batteries were taken out and the screen is badly cracked. It was sitting in some wet grass so it is also suffering from water damage. It is disgusting to think that such a vital piece of emergency equipment would be damaged like this. We handed it over to the gardaí and they are looking at it for prints. I would say there is little chance of it working again,’ he said.

The damaged defibrillator was only put in place at Merrymeeting Shopping Centre in July of this year after generous donations from local businesses.

The Franey and Dunne families also made a donation to the defibrillator following a fundraising campaign they started after suffering two family losses in quick succession in the past year.

John Franey passed away the day after St Stephen’s Day, while his daughter Siobhan passed away suddenly on New Years Day, the day after her father’s funeral.

Wicklow Community First Responders are hopeful that whoever stole and damaged the defibrillator will be apprehended.

‘ The gardaí are checking CCTV footage from the area in an effort to identify the perpetrators. There are quite a few CCTV systems in the area so that could be helpful. It’s difficult to think how we can make the defibrillator any more secure, apart from more CCTV in place. It has to be accessible and in plain view so there isn’t much else we can do,’ said Mr Clancy.

The initial theft of the public AED caused quite the outcry, resulting in over 1,000 visits to the Wicklow Community First Responders Facebook page and over 300 comments.

‘ The community has really rallied behind us and we have been inundated with messages of disgust for what has happened and huge support also,’ added Mr Clancy.

A Gofundme page for a new defibrillator was established for anyone who wanted to make a donation and ended up surpassing the fundraising target of €1,100 within eight hours.

Cllr John Snell has called for those responsible to come forward before they are apprehended by the gardaí.

‘ This was a despicable act by senseless and mindless people who I don’t think understand the potential implications of their actions.

‘It has caused a lot of unrest locally. People are disgusted. I would advise the culprits to hand themselves into the gardaí rather than face the embarrassment of the gardaí calling to their door and arresting them in front of their neighbours.

‘CCTV is being checked, including systems from nearby private properties. I think it’s fairly likely they will be caught.’

The theft and vandalisation of the defibrillator also coincided with what would have been Siobhan Dunne’s birthday.

‘ The Franey and Dunne families made very generous donations to the community to honour and commemorate Siobhan’s memory.

‘ They embarked on a huge fundraising campaign so this whole ordeal has been very disheartening for the family,’ said Cllr Snell.