By Cian O’Connell

Referee Kieran Daly helped a teenager who collapsed during a Westmeath U15 Division Three Football Final in Kinnegad last Saturday.

In the second half of a game involving Inny Shamrocks and Lilliput Gaels a young player became ill with Daly occupying a central role in his recovery.

“Fifteen minutes into the second half a boy collapsed on the field in front of me,” Daly, who is a full-time paramedic, explains. “I had to administer first aid, it happened right in front of me. Interventions were made that were critical. Seconds do matter. The boy is in good form, he will be fine.”

Daly, though, was keen to highlight the efforts of others who assisted the boy. “Enda Kenny was with me, Enda is a guard, he is used to serious incidents. I said to Enda all I needed was the space to help the boy. Enda was brilliant, Inny Shamrocks too, the people in Kinnegad too. There was a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant physio with Lilliput Gaels.

“The boy's mum and dad, who I spoke too, and his granny and little brother were there along with friends and family. It was a county final.

“This was about the GAA. You had people out waiting on the roads for an ambulance, you had Kinnegad people getting stretchers, you had Inny Shamrocks worrying about one player and trying to keep the others occupied.

“You had a guard making space for the paramedic to carry out his medical duties. It was so well done. You had a crowd, who respected the seriousness of the situation. You had concerned parents, concerned grandparents, concerned family, concerned friends. All of this had a positive outcome.”

Throughout the worrying time Daly did his utmost to remain calm in challenging circumstances. “It was stressful, I'm used to working in an ambulance with stuff around me,” Daly says. “I was on the field, I didn't have my medical equipment around me, but I had my experience as a trained paramedic to know something wasn't right and it had to be corrected immediately.”

Despite his crucial and admirable assistance, Daly praised Enda Kenny’s efforts. “You had 30 players on the field, another 14 or 15 subs - all under the age of 15, who aren't used to seeing something like this happening,” he says. “The onus is always on a referee to protect everybody when dealing with a situation.

“If that was a situation where I was a referee, but couldn't medically intervene I still had an onus of care to every other player to ensure their welfare with regards to what was ongoing . That is where Enda was brilliant, that is where the club officials were great.”

The response from the emergency services was swift too. “First aid and medical interventions were given to the boy,” Daly says. “He was then brought into a dressing room where advanced paramedics from the National Ambulance Services came to attend to the boy.

“It was then that I returned to the field, I didn't return until they came. A rapid response vehicle was there within 12 minutes, I returned to the field when I knew the boy was being medically treated. When I knew they had the medical equipment to treat the boy I was happy to referee the match.”

Delighted that the boy is recovering, Daly was happy to provide valuable help. “The GAA is absolutely super,” he says. “There was a massive, massive community feeling about it all.

"You had referees in the stands watching because they had sons, nephews, and nieces involved. The support I have received from other referees in Westmeath has always been very good. We have a super set-up and they give you the appetite and desire to want to be a referee and to enjoy every time you step on the field to put a whistle in your mouth. It is a great GAA story, thank God the boy is going to be okay.”