The GAA has been urged to help fund defibrillators for every club in the country after a camogie player was saved having collapsed during a match at the weekend.
Michelle Herbert lost consciousness while playing for Newcastle West against Tournafulla in the junior county final on Sunday.
A defibrillator owned by Feohanagh Castlemahon GAA Club, where the game was being played, was used to resuscitate her. Ms Herbert, a teacher at Hazelwood Secondary College, was later airlifted to University Hospital Limerick where she is said to be in a stable condition.
Frank Reidy, GAA Munster Council representative, and secretary of Feohanagh Castlemahon GAA Club, said he would be calling on GAA bosses to help clubs pay for defibrillators
Bríd Kennedy, secretary of Limerick Camogie, said she would also raise the matter with Croke Park representatives.
“It is something we definitely need rolled out,” she added.
Attempts to reach GAA headquarters at Croke Park for a comment were unsuccessful.
Mary Herbert, Michelle Herbert’s mother, said it was “so important” to have a defibrillator in a sports club.
“We would add our voice for grant aid to be provided for clubs to buy them,” she said.
Ms Herbert thanked all those who came to her daughter’s aid, in particular Tournafulla full forward Sarah Jane Joy, a trained nurse, who was being marked by Michelle before her collapse.
“We’d also like to thank Ber Long, a nurse from Tournafulla, who also helped Michelle. The cardiologists in the hospital told us they saved Michelle’s life,” she added.
Mary Herbert said her daughter had been in “full health” prior to the match.
“She is undergoing a series of tests to determine what caused it. She is sitting up in bed now and talking to us. She will be going to Dublin for a cardiac MRI. We’ve no answers yet as to what caused this.”
Michelle Herbert’s sister, Laura, was en route from Australia so she could be with her family and “give her sister a big hug”.