Category: Awards

David McEvoy, Volunteer of the Year 2016, tells us how he began volunteering and what winning a Volunteer Ireland Award means to him.

Winning the Volunteer of the Year Award 2016 was an absolute privilege for me. To be nominated in the first place by family, friends, my fellow responders and my community was a real surprise altogether.

In 2009, I was a firefighter in Birr Fire Station. It was here that I discovered an interest in helping people so I took it upon myself to start research on CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation). Being friends with some local Paramedics, they helped me find out about courses and information on what to do next. I completed some great, informative courses such as Heartsaver AED, First Aid and also became a Community CFR Instructor. Only 3 weeks after completing my learning, my own Dad, Peter, suffered a cardiac arrest.

Thankfully I knew what to do and immediately started CPR and after a long 42 minutes with the help of the Ambulance Service we restarted his heart. It was an absolute relief to hear him speak again. Unfortunately after 7 weeks, he passed away due to an illness but those 7 weeks were fantastic and gave us a chance to say goodbye.

Birr First Responders

After his passing I realised that Birr town needed a first responder group to help in such situations so for the next 3 years I dedicated my spare time to teaching and preaching about the benefits of AED’S and CPR. Due to an illness, I couldn’t continue firefighting but not to let this stop me, I started fundraising and created the Birr First Responders Group.

In March 2012, I launched my group with massive support from my family, friends and our local community. With the help of community businesses and local families we raised a significant amount of money over the next few years and this enabled us to purchase 8 defibrillators along with other lifesaving equipment. At present 5 of these defibrillators are mobile with my responders who are on call to respond to such calls as Cardiac Arrests, Cardiac Chest Pain, Stroke and Choking Incidents. The other 3 defibrillators are currently located at Birr Garda Station, Dooley’s Hotel, Birr and St. Brendan’s Church, Birr.

To date I have trained roughly around 2350 people in the use of an AED and CPR Skills. These places include local schools, local businesses, An Garda Síochana and also surrounding areas. This keeps me going as it is something I really enjoy and have great interest in doing. It also gives me great satisfaction that people have the interest in what my group and I do for our community.

The Volunteer Ireland Awards Ceremony itself was fantastic. Located at City Hall Dublin, it was unreal – the amount of time and effort put into it was phenomenal. Meeting all of the other volunteers, organisers and staff was brilliant. It was great to meet so many people dedicated to what they do. It was a pleasure to be there and be part of it all – it was an absolutely amazing night for us all.

The Volunteer Ireland Awards

Winning the award for the category Emergency and Ambulance Services that night was unreal but for my name to have been called for the Christine Buckley Volunteer of the Year Award was unbelievable! I did not expect that at all, I remember sitting there and my wife Siobhan literally had to push me off the chair to receive it. It was surreal. Thanks so much to Conor Buckley whom the award was presented to me by.

Since that night I have been like a celebrity in my town, the amount of congrats and well wishes have been mad and I appreciate every last one of them. As every volunteer knows we are not in it for praise or recognition but the fact that we are helping someone out there that needs it is a joy in itself.

Since the event I think everyone has come to realise what it is that a volunteer actually does and it is unbelievable the amount of different stories people have of what they are involved in. You could sit and listen all day to these people – they are all amazing.

I am so chuffed to have these awards in my home. As I said that night these awards are dedicated to my Dad, Peter, who always encouraged me to go ahead and do what I love to do. Thanks so much to Volunteer Ireland. I loved every second of the event, you in yourselves are amazing people in what you do.

If you’d like to nominate a volunteer like David, nominations for this year’s awards are open until Friday 13th October. Nominate here. 

Birr native David McEvoy has been named Volunteer of the Year at the Volunteer Ireland Awards for his dedication to Birr First Responders. David started the group in 2012 after the passing of his father. David’s father suffered a cardiac arrest and, having only been trained 3 weeks previously, he was able to perform CPR for 42 minutes until help arrived. Although David’s father passed the following month, his training was vital to allow him to give his father an extra few weeks with his family. This spurred David to begin the Birr First Responder group. In almost five years since they began, they have answered 568 calls and made a significant impact on the community. David had been a member of the fire service until illness meant he could no longer continue. He now dedicates all of this time to the group having missed only two calls in five years. He’s also passionate about training the community in CPR and has trained over 500 school children in Birr. To read more about David and all of the nominees click here.

Matt Cullen, Volunteer with Swords Tidy Towns has volunteered for over 40 years. Last year, he was named Volunteer of the Year 2015. He tells us what winning the award meant to him and why he thinks volunteering is so important.

Winning Volunteer of the Year Award for 2015 was one of the best experiences of my life, it meant so much to me and in the aftermath of the event it led to very positive experiences never to be forgotten, which I will return to later.

First of all, to focus on the Volunteer of the Year event itself, although I was doing voluntary work for the last forty years (the last ten years with Swords Tidy Towns,) I never thought of being rewarded for such activities. It came as a complete surprise that STT had nominated me for the award. So I felt truly honoured and somewhat overcome by the kindness shown by all. To win the Christine Buckley Volunteer of the Year Award, who previously won volunteer of the year award meant so much to me in view of the wonderful work Christine did for abused women.

At the award ceremony itself, I was somewhat humbled by the voluntary work that those nominated were engaged in throughout the country. To my mind, each nominated volunteer were winners in their own right and it was a pleasure to talk to some of them about the work they are doing. It was uplifting to hear from some that their enthusiasm was not dampened by family health difficulties, if anything, it spurned me on to continue my voluntary work with Swords Tidy Towns despite my own health difficulties. To explain what I mean by that, maybe it is worthwhile pointing out that I have a terminal illness called Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, (which means scarring of the lungs with no known cause) also Rheumatoid Arthritis and COPD, which at times makes it difficult for me to carry out the voluntary work in the manner that I would like to do. Winning volunteer of the year award has meant that more people are aware of both what I do and my health issues. Consequently, the kindness, positivity and encouragement from Swords Tidy Towns, Volunteer Ireland, Irish Lung Fibrosis Association, family, relations and friends has given me an added boost since winning the award.

Reflecting on what it meant for me to win the award, I can see how my own skills and knowledge can be put to good use. For example, I love art, gardening and meeting people. So with Swords Tidy Towns whether it is revamping signs, (Swords Garda Station,) installing flower beds/weeding and meeting with STT volunteers all link with my interests. So it is a labour of love rather than a chore. In addition to it being interesting work, it is very uplifting to see the work that I am doing acknowledged by so many people. After the award ceremony it was great to receive calls and letters from local politicians offering their congratulations, likewise, from the media, (both newspapers and TV,) Fingal County Council, Education Training Board, Irish Lung Fibrosis Association and especially Swords Tidy Towns who nominated me.

As mention earlier, since winning the award it has made me more aware of the work other volunteers are doing such as the Aislinn Centre. Subsequent to the volunteer of the year event, I have visited the Aislinn Centre a few times and I fully acknowledge the great work they do.

I never gave much thought into the volunteering work I do until the event itself. Thinking about it has helped me to see the value of volunteering not just for me but collectively how voluntary work plays an important role in helping others throughout Ireland. So much so, I would encourage anyone to get involved in volunteering, no matter how small the time you may have, it is an invaluable asset that can help your own well being as well as known that your work does make a difference. With that in mind, one key learning point from winning the award was that the volunteering work I was doing (and continue to do,) does make a difference, a view endorsed by all involved in the event , Volunteer Ireland , family, relations and friends, making it a wonderful experience I will cherish for a long time to come.