The mother of a baby whose life was saved by quick-thinking gardaí has reached out to extend her gratitude.
Baby Holly was only nine days old when she got into breathing difficulty and was brought to Ennis garda station by her parents, Amanda Carmody and Michael Coughlin.
Amanda praised the efforts of Garda Patrick McCormack (pictured below), who met the family when they arrived at the station and called an ambulance.
She was especially grateful for the efforts of Garda Ken Butler, who is attached to the Divisional Roads Policing unit and is a trained paramedic.
Garda Butler performed two rounds of back slaps on baby Holly, while also administering oxygen through a tube from a first aid kit. After the second round of back slaps, baby Holly stopped choking.
"He was fantastic, did great work," Amanda said. "He was out of this world. If it wasn't for him we don't know what would have happened the poor baby."
She praised everyone at the garda station for their help.
The event gave the family an awful fright, Amanda said, but thankfully baby Holly has since made a full recovery and is doing well.
By Gordon Deegan
One of the gardaí involved in caring for an infant girl who stopped breathing in the public area of Ennis garda station last Wednesday has said he was never so happy to hear a baby cry after the nine-day-old tot was revived.
25-year-old Ballinasloe man and probationary garda Patrick McCormack graduated from Templemore Garda Training College four months ago.
Garda McCormack was on duty at the public office of the garda station last Wednesday evening where members of the public usually come looking to have passport forms and other forms signed.
However, at 6.30pm, two distraught young parents of a tiny baby girl who had stopped breathing and had gone blue knocked on the window looking for help.
The two had been walking along the nearby Abbey Street in the town with their newborn baby in her buggy when the mother went straight for the garda station after noticing that the baby had turned blue and stopped breathing.
A member of the local traffic corps and a trained paramedic, Garda Ken Butler was also on hand to assist.
The baby was taken by ambulance to hospital for observation.
Garda McCormack said the mother was in touch the next day to thank the gardaí and to say that the baby was doing fine.
Chief Superintendent John Kerin told members of the Clare Joint Policing Committee (JPC) today that quick thinking and heroics had saved the baby girl. He said that he sent a note to the director of Training at Templemore Garda College commending the trainers at Templemore.
Ann Norton, an independent member of Clare Co Council, was an eye-witness to the incident as she was at the station to get a passport form signed.
Councillor Norton said that Garda McCormack was re-assuring the mother that had she done everything right because she was questioning "have I done something wrong? Is this my fault?’".
Councillor Norton said that the family was “very lucky that the gardaí were so on the ball and so confident in what they were doing”.
She said: “I would like to compliment the two gardaí - they were superb.”