Community stalwarts honoured
DBM FIRST RESPONDERS AND TIM AND ESTHER FITZPATRICK COMMENDED FOR THEIR EFFORTS
‘VOLUNTEERING is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote everyday about the kind of community that you want to live in.”
That simple quote sums up the spirit and dedication of the 2019 the Hall of Fame inductees Tim and Esther Fitzpatrick of Liscarroll AC and the Community Award Winner, the Doneraile, Buttevant and Mallow (DBM) First Responders Scheme.
Awards committee chair Roisin Moriarty told The Corkman they were delighted to be able to honour the “amazing” work done by the first responder group and the dedication of the Fitzpatrick’s who she described as the “backbone” of the vibrant athletics club.
“Selecting these awards winners was no easy task given the “exceptionally high standard of nominations this year – however, we’re delighted to have chosen these worthy winners who have done so much tremendous work over the years for the communities they serve,” said Roisin.
Established in 2014 by Gerard Sheehan, DBM’s modus operandi is as simple as it is effective, with a trained team of volunteers on call 24/7 to respond to calls to the HSE Ambulance Control relating to cardiac arrest, chest pain, choking or stroke.
If an ambulance tasked at the same time arrives to the scene first the responders will stand down. If not the team will treat and stabilise the patient until the tasked ambulance team arrive.
“They do amazing work on a daily basis, that a lot of people in the community would be unaware of. We believe the award will act as a wonderful platform to create awareness of groups like the first responder scheme,” she added.
Accepting the award Mr Sheehan said that since ‘going live’ the group has responded to 847 calls, including 35 already this year alone.
“I would thank to the all responders, past and present, for their support and commitment. Their phones can go off any time of the day or night and they never know what they are going to. I would also like to thank their families for their support,” he said.
“Our thanks also go to the committee for this award and for their ongoing support for the DBM scheme,” he added.
Tim and Esther Fitzpatrick have been associated with the Liscarroll Athletic Club since 1990. Esther is club secretary, a position she has held since 1992, and Tim is PRO, with both also actively involved in the coaching side at the club.
Esther is currently the Munster Athletics administration secretary and both Tim and Esther are and have been members of the National Juvenile Committee of the Athletic Association of Ireland for many years.
“The Fitzpatrick’s became involved the club when there own children were starting out in athletics and over the years have helped give hundreds of young people the confidence and ability to compete at the very highest level of the sport” said Roisin.
“They are always there on competition days to encourage the children to believe and achieve their goals. The Fitzpatricks are truly the backbone of this very successful club and it is for this reason that we are delighted to announce them as the 2019 Hall of Fame inductees,” she added.
Thanking the committee for selecting them to receive “this prestigious honour”, Esther said it had come as a “complete shock and surprise”.
“It is the athletes that have made our club so success over the years and we have been very lucky to have had so many wonderful people in our club.
While not everyone can win medals, they are given the opportunity to take part, gain confidence and be as good as they can,” said Esther.
“We try to encourage them to believe in themselves because we feel you have to believe to achieve. Thank you for this award, it is very much appreciated.”