Karyn honoured for 'life-saving' response to Athlone river incident

Karyn Martin, a volunteer with the Athlone River Safety Awareness group, has been officially recognised for a "life-saving" response in which she helped avert a tragedy on the Shannon last year.

By keeping a cool head and carrying out CPR on a person who had entered the river, Karyn "quite literally saved the man's life," according to the chairperson of the river safety group, Cllr Aengus O'Rourke.

The incident began when a man entered the water on a summery afternoon last August.

Immediately the alarm was raised on an emergency call app which Athlone River Safety Awareness uses to coordinate its activities. At the same time, a passer-by ran in to Sean's Bar to call for help.

Karyn Martin was on duty in Sean's at the time, and both she and her manager Declan Delaney, who is a fellow volunteer with group, ran to the scene.

Karyn and Declan had recently received training in the use of defibrillator resuscitation and CPR, and they put this training into action.

The man was taken from the water at the small slip-way at the back of Athlone Castle. He was non-responsive but had a pulse.

Karyn, with Declan's assistance, put her training to great use and soon the man was responsive again just as the ambulance arrived.

"This man is alive today because of Karyn's swift action. It's not easy to take over a frantic scene like Karen did last August," said Cllr O'Rourke.

"To carry out CPR in these circumstance took a cool head, great concentration, and a real determination to save a life. Karyn's actions resulted in a very good outcome on the day.

"Until now the probability of someone surviving a fall into the Shannon in Athlone town was very low. For generations, the outcome from such an incident would be a recovery rather than a rescue.

"But now, with the Athlone River Safety Awareness group in place, the odds of survival have dramatically improved for those who find themselves in the water, for whatever reason.

"I want to thank Karyn Martin for her amazing response that day, and as a group we are very proud to have her as one of our volunteers," he said.

At the most recent Athlone River Safety Awareness meeting, held at the new RNLI lifeboat station in Coosan, Karyn was presented with a certificate of recognition for her heroic actions.

"While the certificate of recognition is just a small gesture, as a group we believe it is important to acknowledge the good work done by our volunteers when they are called upon to save a life," said Cllr O'Rourke.

Athlone River Safety Awareness was established in 2019 with the main objective of improving the chances of survival of those who enter the water in the river in Athlone.