A GAA fan who was brought back to life by a Garda after collapsing from a cardiac arrest, says, “she literally saved my life.”
Dave Gallagher, a dedicated Donegal supporter, was in Clones for the All-Ireland SFC Qualifier tie against Armagh on June 12 this year, when he collapsed.
He has no memory of it, or for the following two days, until he woke up in the ICU.
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“My heart had stopped and 100 per cent my life was saved by the Garda, I was brought back by her.”
“My last memory is from Friday, two days before the match, when I had gone to a wedding with my wife. When I woke up in Cavan General Hospital, with my wife and daughter by my bedside, it was the following Tuesday.”
Dave, a retired Business Development Director, has been told he was making his way to the entrance to the grounds when he bumped into a friend. He greeted his friend and then fell to the ground.
At that point Garda Martina McMahon, who was working with Reserve Garda Liam Stewart, began CPR.
Dave sincerely thanked others who also came to his assistance or offered assistance including the Donegal team doctor Kevin Moran who left the grounds to help him. One other man, who wished to remain anonymous, has since made contact with Dave too.
Dave was taken by ambulance to Cavan General Hospital and the following week he spoke by phone with Garda McMahon.
However he got to meet her in person in Cavan when the Garda commissioner Drew Harris made a presentation to her and to Reserve Gda Stewart.
Dave, who is a native of Glenfinn, county Donegal and now lives in Dublin, says that he always attends the annual Kennedy School in New Ross.
This year the Garda Commissioner was a guest speaker and Dave made a point of meeting him to tell him about Garda McMahon.
“When I met her in Cavan at the presentation by the Commissioner, it was very emotional for me. I embraced her and told her she was a life saver. It was great to thank her, Reserve Garda Liam Stewart and paramedic Declan Smith in person. It has given me closure to a life changing experience.”
“To see them getting recognition from the Garda Commissioner was fantastic and I will always remember it.”
Garda Chief Superintendent Alan McGovern, commended the Gardai for their quick response and said: “Their actions saved his life. This is one of many interventions that I have seen throughout my career where Gardai have put their medical training to use.”
Dave has had a number of medical procedures since then and is on his way to making a full recovery.
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