Conor played a part in rescue of Monaghan toddler

A Rochfortbridge man was among the emergency personnel brought together to meet the family of a Monaghan toddler who came close to drowning last year.

Conor Hoey was on duty as an emergency call taker at the HSE ambulance control centre on August 3, 2020 when a plea for help came in after little Therese Hickey was found floating in an ornamental pond at her family’s home at Castleblayney.

Emergency services personnel who attended the scene where Therese’s 39-week pregnant mother, Melinda Hickey, and a neighbour were performing CPR on the child, were so concerned for the little girl that a decision was made to airlift her to Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

Happily, Therese, 2, is today in fine form, and Melinda used the get-together in Castleblayney to share the story of the family’s ordeal in a bid to spread the message of the importance of knowing CPR.

“I was the only person in the family who knew CPR. My neighbour Ian helped but it wasn’t until afterwards that we realised how important it is,” Melinda told RTÉ’s Sinéad Hussey.

“You never know when you’re going to need it. I didn’t think I was ever going to use CPR,” she added.

Conor told of his reaction when the call came through.

“When I first heard the call come in, I was speaking to the baby’s brother, I believe it was, and he said: ‘Help! My sister has fallen in to a pond,” Conor told RTÉ.

“I knew we were dealing with a serious incident,” he said, adding that he reassured the family, talked them through CPR and kept them focused.

“They did a great job and it’s great to see this outcome.”

Conor is a member of the Mullingar Unit of the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps, and service to emergency medicine is in the genes; his mother Sharon is the officer in charge of the unit and his father, Greg, is a paramedic with the National Ambulance Service.