Teenage girls who saved nephew's life honoured

Two teenage girls who saved the life of their baby nephew were honoured today in a ceremony to mark the launch of the Order of Malta’s new fundraising campaign.

Tánaiste Mary Harney presented a special award to the two Order of Malta cadets, Mary O’Malley, 16, and her sister Róisín, 14, after they resuscitated 12-week-old Ethan when he stopped breathing.

The sisters, from Louisberg, Co Mayo, received the bronze medal to mark Sticky Plaster Day tomorrow, which aims to raise funds for the Order of Malta’s life-saving work.

Speaking at the presentation, the order’s national director Peadar Ward said: “We are very proud to present these two brave cadets with a special award of a Bronze Medal of the Order of Malta, Ireland, for their courage, quick-thinking and first-aid provision in a life-or-death situation.

“Mary and Róisín are a fine example of what can be achieved through the Order of Malta Cadets, which provides first-aid training to young people aged 10 to 16.”

When Mary, who was minding prematurely-born Ethan, noticed the baby had stopped breathing, she performed resuscitation techniques she had learned as a cadet such as rubbing his tummy and tweaking his ears to stimulate him.

She and her sister Róisín then took turns to perform CPR until the Order of Malta ambulance arrived.

Mary said she was very glad she knew how to treat her nephew but had never thought she would have to put her training to use in such personal circumstances.

“If I didn’t know how to do it, Ethan probably wouldn’t be alive today. I never thought I’d have to do that. It was so scary when it happened.”

Her sister Róisín agreed: “At the time I wasn’t thinking about it, but later on that day, I was: ‘Oh my God. It was so scary.’”

She said it was really great to get the award, and both sisters were determined to carry on volunteering for the Order of Malta.

Ethan’s mother, Judy O’Malley, said: “The doctors told me that if Mary and Róisín hadn’t been trained in CPR, Ethan wouldn’t have made it.

“As it was he suffered no brain damage, although he had stopped breathing.

“I can only thank God for the girls’ training, which saved Ethan’s life,” she said.

Garda James Corrigan, a volunteer with the Order of Malta who responded to the emergency, said he was very proud of the girls, who are part of the 25-strong cadet force in the area.

“On the morning in question, when the first eight minutes is vital, they had started immediately and that’s why that baby is the way he is today. He came out of it without a scratch,” he said.

The Louisberg unit, which was started in 1998, responds to around one call a week and is able to be on the scene far more quickly than an ambulance, which would take 45 minutes to come from Castlebar.

The Order of Malta is launching its fundraising campaign, Sticky Plaster Day, which will see the sale of plaster packs at €2 each to fund and improve ambulance, first-aid and community care services operated by the charity across the island of Ireland.

The order, which has more than 4,000 members, provides ambulance and first-aid services to sports events, concerts, festivals and race meetings, as well as training, nursing skills, community services and assistance to people with learning disabilities.