The Academy was presented with an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) by World Record Holder and World and Olympic Triple Jumper, Jonathan Edwards.
Many of you will know that defibrillators are now available in many public places because if they are used immediately after someone has suffered a heart attack it has been proved without doubt that they can save lives. We now have a number of staff who are trained to use the defibrillator and we believe that we are the first school in the UK to possess such equipment.
Many of our Gaelic footballers in particular, are aware of the impact and danger of sudden cardiac death in the young through their tour to Ireland last year. On this trip, they heard about Cormac McAnallen, an outstanding Gaelic footballer who won the highest national and international honours in the game but who tragically died of a heart attack at the age of twenty-four.
If any good could possibly have come of his death it is a heightened awareness of the need to assess the health and fitness of young people participating in sport.
For more information on Cormac’s sporting legacy and his Spoting Trust to raise awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, click on to http://www.thecormactrust.com/ for further details.
