A FUNDRAISING walk held on Sydney’s Bondi Beach has raised more than AUS$5,500 (around £2,600) for The Cormac Trust.
The trust was founded by Cormac McAnallen's family and members of the GAA in memory of the 24-year-old Tyrone footballer who died in his sleep in 2004 from a hidden heart condition.
The charity raises awareness of the importance of screening for Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) and has also provided 54 defribillators to sports clubs across the north.
More than 180 people took part in the walk last Sunday, organised by Sydney based GAA club Cormac McAnallen’s GAC.
Club spokeswoman Rosie McGarvey said the club had been “overwhelmed by the generosity” and support for the walk.
“It was a brilliant day on Sunday,” she said.
“Cormac was definitely looking down on us, it had been raining all week.
“When we were about to depart from Bondi Beach we had a couple approach us asking what was happening because they had seen all the GAA tops.
“They turned out to be Cormac's old neighbours in Eglish, so they joined in and were delighted to bump into us and we were delighted to have them take part.”
GAA and AFL legend Tadgh Kennelly and his family were among those who turned out for the walk, while Derry All-star Kevin McCloy threw his support behind bhe walk in a video posted on the Cormac McAnallen’s club Facebook page.
Kevin McCloy suffered a cardiac arrest during a club championship game for Lavey in August 2014. He collapsed 10 minutes into the game, but was revived with the help of three doctors and a defibrillator.
“I had no pulse for over six minutes, then three doctors came from the crowd and resuscitated me using CPR and a defibrillator,” he said in the video.
“The defibrillator had been donated to the grounds by the Cormac Trust. I’m alive today due to the good work of those three doctors and the successful distribution of defribrillators to football clubs by The Cormac Trust.”
The Cormac Trust described the walk as a “resounding success”.
“A lot of Derry jerseys appeared out of the woodwork which was definitely a 'hat-tip to our patron Kevin McCloy’s video which we can see had 7,300 views in the space of 48 hours,” JP O'Neill, Operations Manager of The Cormac Trust, said.
“The Cormac Trust’s relationship continues to grow stronger with each year, with the Cormac McAnallens GAC in Sydney.
“It is very evident they have a strong and ethical culture within the club and they are great example of young Irish people, with great values, coming together in another country and volunteering to further the aims of the GAA”.
Mr O’Neill said the funds raised from the walk would enable the charity to continue to raise awareness of SADS and CPR by visiting schools across the north.
"We want to have as many people out in the community who know how to administer effective CPR before an ambulance arrives.”
"We also want schools to consider getting CPR training and a defibrillator. We will help the schools raise the money required in order to become a Heartsafe School and The Cormac Trust encourage schools to give us a call to discuss the possibilities".
Education Minister John O’Dowd also recently pledged his support for The Cormac Trust’s work in schools.
Mr O’Dowd met trust representatives including Kevin McCloy and Cormac’s mother Bridget McAnallen on January 7 and said that plans to provide schools with defribillators was “an important issue”.
“I would encourage schools to carefully consider the need for CPR and defibrillator training for use within their school community,” he said.
Donations to The Cormac Trust can still be made through the fundraising page set up for the walk.
Funds will also go towards the Trust’s Genetics Research Award, which encourages research into genes which may be a contributing factor to sudden cardiac death.
