Heroic Mass-goers save doctor’s life
A PRIEST has been thanking God – and his good memory – after a heroic fireman and a plucky parishioner saved the life of a man who collapsed following a heart attack at Mass.
Fr Kieran O’Brien, the parish priest in Killarney, Co. Kerry, was thankful that he remembered he had a defibrillator in the church, which helped save the life of the American doctor.
The incident took place at a 10.30am service in Killarney Cathedral last month as Fr O’Brien was leading the service.
Fr O’Brien told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘I heard the bang when the man fell. I could tell by the reaction of people nearby there was a serious problem, so I asked if there was a doctor or a medic in the congregation as I needed assistance. To be honest, I thought the poor man was gone.’
Local man Denny Murphy stepped forward and attempted to revive the stricken man, who was named as Dr Patrick Brosnan, who is in his early 70s and is originally from Scartaglin, Co. Kerry.
A paediatric endocrinologist in Houston, Texas, Dr Brosnan was on holidays in the area.
Martin Grady, a fireman and a trained first-responder, also stepped forward. He told the MoS: ‘When I got there, they had the man lying across the bench and were trying to perform CPR. I took over from Denny and got the man flat on his back on the floor of the chapel and began resuscitation efforts.
‘It wasn’t looking good but then Fr O’Brien produced a defibrillator out of nowhere.
‘I knew how to use that and the message flashed up on the screen saying “Shock required”, so I set about doing that and thankfully the guy pulled through.’
Fr O’Brien said his good memory played a crucial role in proceedings. ‘A while back somebody mentioned to me where a defibrillator was stored and, thanks be to God, I remembered where it was. I think even
Martin would admit it would have been an almost impossible task without it.’ Mr Grady agreed: ‘The defibrillator was essential.’
Mr Brosnan was released from hospital on Thursday and will be travelling
‘I thought the poor man was gone’