Tipperary man walks his socks off for defibrillator in his community

A Thurles man who walked the Royal Canal in a bid to raise funds for a defribrilator for the Dehreen area of Thurles, has spoken of his great sense of achievement having completed the task, and his ambitions to continue on the road of supplying AED's for the Cathedral Town.

Justin Neeson felt compelled to do something after two tragic sudden losses in his life and the life of his family prompted him to take on the challenge. And he did it with real gusto.

“After the tragic loss of my grandmother Mary Conroy in 2000 and then the very sudden loss of my wife's father, Sean Nolan, in 2019 to a sudden heart attack, I decided I wanted to try and raise the funds to hopefully install an AED or defibrillator in my local community in the Derheen Thurles.

“I had always wanted to someday walk the Royal Canal, and I thought that this would be a great opportunity to realize a lifelong ambition while at the same time raising the funds for a much needed medical device for my neighbourhood.
“So, with a lot of help from family, friends and neighbours we set about raising the funds to buy the AED,” Justin told the Tipperary Star this week.

Initially, progress was slow with the fundraising bid, but gradually, as people began to hear about his bid, the wheels started to turn and sure enough support arrived in abundance. Before long, the AED was being fitted to the wall at the Dehreen and is now available to anyone who may require it in future.

“I had initially thought that I could complete this walk within a week by taking annual leave, but I was rapidly brought back to reality after the first days of walking when I suffered huge blisters and damage to my feet.

“This walk was definitely going to be a lot tougher than I had originally imagined, but thankfully after five days walking over a couple of months, in what is such a beautiful amenity in our country, I reached the mighty River Liffey and I was elated,” Justin said.

And, while Justin was literally putting in the miles along the canal, his team of helpers behind the scene were also doing their own share of footwork as they set about the fundraising efforts back home.

“With all of the hard work, time and dedication other people had devoted to this cause, we had finally raised enough money to buy our AED and protective housing. I would like to thank everyone involved for all their help including John Quinn TV & the Edel Quinn hall and also I have to thank everyone who gave so generously,” he said.

The reaction to the project has been very positive indeed, so-much-so that Justin is planning to “walk his socks off again this year” as he takes on another enormous challenge, again with the aim of providing AED's in Thurles town.

“I plan to climb the four highest peaks in the four provinces of Ireland- Carrantuohill, Mweelrea, Lugnaquilla, & Slieve Donard, to raise more funds to install another AED within Thurles town. If anyone would like to donate they can do so on my go fund me page - all donations will be very gratefully accepted. Thanks again to everyone for their continued support,” Justin said.

Go Fund me page:
https://www.gofundme. com /f/aed-for-thurles?utm_ source=customer&utm_ medium=copy_link&utm_ campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

Congratulations to Justin, his family and their team of supporters for their enormous efforts for the good of the community at large.