The beating heart of Kilcogy

The Kilcogy Community First Responder Group was the second to be established in Cavan.

The idea came to light in 2015 after a neighbour in the area passed away suddenly, when some people came together and decided to train in what they assumed would be first aid. Little did they know at the time, they would end up establishing a first response group that continues beating strong over ten years later.

“We got the bug for doing it then and kept it up,” group member Eddie Sheriff says.

When a 999 or 112 call is made, the dispatcher in the call centre will send a text message to all 18 members of the group. Calls can come in on any day, at any time. The responder will reply with a code to say they are on the way, pull on their CFR high-visibility jacket, grab their first aid kit and the nearest defibrillator and punch the Eircode into their phone.

The Kilcogy group covers all areas within a seven-kilometre radius of Kilcogy, which comprises Gowna, Kilnaleck, Bruskey, areas near Granard and parts of Ballinagh. Their area is home to eight defibs, while they have three self-funded portable machines within the group. The group have also received their advanced training, meaning they can administer oxygen.

While they had to stop providing the service during Covid, the group reconvened in 2024 and have since responded to more than 60 calls, some of which have been lifesaving.

“We have definitely saved a few lives,” Eddie explains, describing how they successfully gave CPR to one patient for 45 minutes until the ambulance came. The group received a “lovely letter” from the family afterwards to thank them for their work.

One point, made clear by fellow member Breeda Smith, is that “you’re never on your own” during a call. While they try to respond in groups of at least two, the emergency services will also stay on the phone and talk you through how you can help.

“They will stay with you every step of the way.

“Even if you’re not actively involved when you go to a house... you could be of some help,” Breeda encourages.

While all members are trained to provide first response, she says there are also practical tasks such as moving cars, directing the ambulance to the home, packing a hospital bag, or even calming down nervous family members.

“It’s the simple things as well as that. It’s not always the big things,” explains the retired nurse.

The fact the responders are local means that, more often than not, they know the patient and serve as a friendly face and a helping hand to them and their family in a time of need.

The group are always looking for new members, and encourage anybody, even if they can’t commit their full time to the group, to come along to one of their monthly training sessions to learn the skills that could save somebody’s life. The youngest aspiring CFRs, who come along to the training sessions, are both 12 years old.

Knowing these skills came in useful for Eddie, who was able to save himself when he had a heart attack in May 2024. He woke up at 4am with pains in his chest, arms and at the back of his neck, and couldn’t breathe properly, and immediately knew he was having a heart attack and rang the emergency services.

“I went down and took disprin, and disprin saved my life,” he says.

Just 54 at the time, Eddie believes if he hadn’t trained with the CFR group, he “wouldn’t have known” to take disprin (asprin).

“It’s a very simple thing,” he says, adding that his heart may have had more injuries if he hadn’t acted quickly.

Something the group is commonly asked is: ‘Who do we ring in an emergency?’

“Who do I ring first? The ambulance,” Eddie says emphatically. “End of story.”

If there is a CFR group in your area, they will automatically receive the call if it is related to their response categories.

While the group are often dealing with very serious cases, the camaraderie among those gathered at Micsín’s in Kilcogy is palpable.

The group meets at the Kilcogy pub monthly, and new members are always welcome to join. They are always looking for funds to improve their equipment, buy more defibrillators, replace pads and batteries. They encourage those who wish to donate to reach out to any member or by donating online here.