An innovative south Mayo engineer named Mayo Person of the Year

Kilmeena GAA Club take Meitheal Award

Darren Forde, Hollymount, has claimed the prestigious accolade of Mayo Person of the Year for his tireless work as the coordinator of the Hollymount Community First Responders (CFR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Group.

It is also in recognition of his invention of an eco-powered cabinet that will revolutionise the provision of AEDs and other emergency medical treatments in remote areas globally.

Meanwhile, Kilmeena GAA Club in West Mayo is to receive the Meitheal award in recognition of its success in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship in 2022.

The awards, which are organised annually by the Mayo Association Dublin, will be presented at the Mayo Association Business Lunch on Friday, February 3, in the Intercontinental Hotel in Ballsbridge.

The Covid pandemic of recent years has meant that this is the first awards ceremony since February 2020, and Darren, a roads engineer with Mayo County Council, will succeed fellow couth Mayo resident and chief executive of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Martina Jennings.

He is certainly a worthy successor of the Virginia Gallagher Mayo Person of the Year Award, as the many nominators testified in their submissions to the adjudicating panel.

"Darren is a committed volunteer who pours his heart and soul into projects that will serve and benefit the local community," stated one of the nominators.

"He is driven by a passion for saving lives.

"When he noticed the AED at one of the local churches needed a new battery and pads, he set about fundraising for and coordinating the maintenance of all seven AEDs in the parish, and organised local training sessions in CPR and the use of defibrillators.

"These sessions were a great success and saw 58 people learn these lifesaving skills.

"Not satisfied with this, he took things one step further by establishing the Hollymount CFR group in April 2022.

"Between April and September 2022, this group – which consists of five nurses and one emergency medical technician (Darren) – responded to over 30 calls.

"They responded to 93% of them within 3-17 minutes and were pivotal in many of the positive outcomes achieved.

"As if Darren hadn’t achieved enough on a local level in 2022, he combined his fervour for saving lives with his engineering background to solve a long-standing problem in the provision of AEDs in remote areas globally.

"While climbing Croagh Patrick during the summer with his family, Darren noticed the absence of defibrillators on the mountain itself.

"He realised the predominant barrier was the extreme weather and temperature ranges on the mountain, which could not sustain an AED or lifesaving medication such as Aspirin or Epi-Pens.

"Darren set to work, and within three weeks he had fundraised €8,000, had two AEDs installed on the mountain and started work on a solar/wind-powered storage cabinet that could regulate its own temperature in the absence of a mains power supply. Using his unique combination of skills, he came up with a prototype, patented it himself, and is in the process of having it produced.

"So inspiring is his idea, and so unique are some of the features of this cabinet, that the Air Corps has come on board to lift the eco-powered cabinets onto Croagh Patrick, thus ensuring access to this lifesaving equipment all-year round."

Darren has also insisted on employing local businesses and firms in the production, assembly, and promotion of his revolutionary cabinets despite numerous offers from overseas.

"Darren is always alert to ways he can improve the provision of emergency care to local communities," said one of his nominees.

"He identifies an issue, comes up with a solution, and inspires people to get involved in making it work. He thrives on teamwork, positivity, and overcoming obstacles, and works tirelessly to improve the lives of those around them.

"Coupled with that, he is a humble man who never seeks the limelight but works quietly and diligently to make his dreams a reality.

"And when Darren’s dreams become a reality, rural Mayo becomes an even better and safer place to live."

The Meitheal award-winners have also done their bit to make rural Mayo a much better place in which to live. Kilmeena GAA Club is the heartbeat of the West Mayo parish of 1,500 residents and its victory in the All-Ireland Junior Football Final last February was one of the great GAA stories in Mayo in recent years.

The famous and dramatic win was the culmination of a remarkable renaissance by the 134-year-old club, which was nearly relegated to Junior B in 2014, only to be crowned All-Ireland champions eight years later.

"The date of Sunday, February 6, 2022, and the winning of the All-Ireland Junior Club title may long be remembered as the greatest day the parish has ever witnessed," stated the nominator for Kilmeena GAA.

"However, this club and its place in the community is about a lot more than playing football and winning titles.

The club is, in essence, a community voluntary organisation where its many volunteers reach into every corner of the parish to look after the needs of families and neighbours."

Tickets for the Mayo Association Business Lunch are available from treasurer@mayoassociationdublin.com