Naas Community First Responders

20/06/2026

🎉🎉 AN ABSOLUTE BUMPER UPDATE OF GOOD NEWS! 🎉🎉

​We are absolutely bursting with excitement to share some incredible updates with you all this evening! Our 100% volunteer team has been working hard behind the scenes, and the support from our community is truly paying off! 🌟🎒🚨

​🗳️ AIB Community €1 Million Fund Update! 🤞❤️

​A massive, heartfelt THANK YOU to every single person who took time out of their day to nominate Naas CFR for the AIB Community Fund! 📲 👏

✨ The nomination process is now closed, and we have our fingers, toes, and everything else crossed! 🤞 It will be the end of summer before we hear if our application has been successful. With AIB funding, we could do even more! It would allow us to expand our reach, train more responders in advanced cpr, and secure even more life-saving gear, so we are keeping everything crossed! ☀️🍂💸

​💶🎰 HSE National Lottery Grant SUCCESS! 🏆🎉

​We still can't quite believe it, but we have received the phenomenal news that our application for the HSE National Lottery Grant has been officially accepted! 🥳🙌

This is a monumental boost for our small team. This vital funding is locked in and will go a massive way toward upgrading our essential training equipment and purchasing more Public Access Defibrillators (AEDs) for the locality! 🩺💪🔥

​📍 Keeping Our AED Promises! 🏡❤️
​With all this incredible momentum, we want to reassure you that we still remain completely committed to the four community AEDs we planned out back in February! The hse funded AEDs will be additional to those promised below & we are currently reviewing where would be stragetically the best locations to place these for maximum community coverage! 🗓️🎯
​🟢 Hazelmere/Ballycane: Delivered and fully operational with thanks to Andrew Cross & the team in Centra Hazelmere! 🥳
​🟡 Monread: Coming very soon! ⏳
​🟡 Kilcullen Road: Coming very soon! ⏳
​🟡 Location 4: Watch this space! 👀

​☀️📬 A Quick Note on Summer Response Times 🏖️✈️
​As it is the summer season, many of our busy volunteers are taking well-deserved family holidays or managing extra shifts. Because of this, please excuse us if we are a little bit late replying to emails or direct messages over the coming weeks! 🧘‍♂️📨 We promise we will get back to everyone as soon as we possibly can.

​Most importantly, we want to wish everyone a wonderful, happy, and safe summer season! Please take care on your holidays and during the busy summer period. Rest assured, our dedicated volunteer responders remain on duty 24/7, and our team training is continuing as normal behind the scenes to keep our community safe! 🚨🚨💪🩺

​None of this would be possible without the unwavering backing of our amazing community. From typing in a nomination to popping a few euros into our links or buckets, you are directly helping us keep Naas, Sallins, and Johnstown heart-safe. ❤️🚑💨

​Thank you all so much again—you are simply the best! 🤜🤛🌟

​ ❤️🚑🚨🎉✨🗳️🩹🏖️📨☀️🧴🌊

13/06/2026

🚨BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE NATIONAL AMBULANCE SERVICE! 📞🚑

​Today, our members Deyana, Trish, Vicki, and Doreen took a fantastic trip out to Tallaght to visit the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC)! 🏢🩺✨

​As a volunteer Community First Responder team, our dispatch link with NEOC is absolutely critical! 🔗❤️ They are the incredible lifelines on the other end of the phone when a 999 or 112 emergency call is placed, seamlessly coordinating and dispatching local CFR responders like us to nearby cardiac and chest pain calls alongside the main ambulance crews. ⏱️🚑🚨

❓ Did You Know? How a 999/112 Call Works:

​🌍 National Routing: When you dial 999 or 112 in a medical emergency, you are put straight through to one of the state-of-the-art NEOC call centres located throughout Ireland. 🎙️

​📍The Power of the Eircode: The very first thing the dispatcher will ask you for is your Eircode. Having this written down or memorized is the single most important thing you can do in a crisis! 📝💯 It completely removes any guesswork or confusion over similarly named estates, rural roads, or local townlands, mapping your exact location instantly so help can be sent without losing a single precious second! 🏎️💨⏱️

​It was a brilliant opportunity for the crew to see the incredible, high-pressure work that happens behind the headset and further strengthen the vital connection between our local community volunteers and the wider National Ambulance Service network! 🤝

​A massive thank you to the wonderful team at NEOC for welcoming Deyana, Trish, Vicki, and Doreen today and for the phenomenal job they do 24/7/365 keeping the entire country safe! 🇮🇪🌍🙌🌟

​

06/06/2026

Reminder to vote for us - deadline approaching!!!

🗳️ WE NEED YOUR HELP! VOTE FOR NAAS CFR! 🗳️

​The AIB Community €1 Million Fund nominations are open, and Naas Community First Responders need your support to secure vital funding for Naas, Sallins & Johnstown!🤞🤞🤞

WHY VOTE FOR NAAS CFR? 🤔
​As a 100% volunteer-led group, every single euro we receive goes straight back into saving lives across Naas, Sallins, and Johnstown. ❤️ If our application is successful, this grant will be put to work exactly where it matters most:
​👉 More Public Access AEDs: Placing more life-saving defibrillators into the heart of our local community - estates & residential areas.

👉 Upgraded Training Equipment: Purchasing brand-new, advanced equipment for our public and group CPR training events.

👉 Advanced Team Upskilling: Training our dedicated volunteer responders further to ensure the best possible patient outcomes during a medical emergency. 🩺⏱️

​HOW TO VOTE? (It only takes 2 minutes!):📱💻

​1️⃣ Go to the AIB Nomination Page: https://aib.ie/personal-forms/community-fund 🔗

2️⃣ Put in your contact details. (One application per person).

3️⃣ Enter our Charity Name: Naas Community First Responders

4️⃣ Enter our Registered Charity Number (RCN):20207026

5️⃣ Select Region: Leinster / Kildare

6️⃣ Theme : Other

7️⃣ Reason for nominating Naas CFR: .....Naas CFR is a group of local people giving up their free time to respond to potentially life threatening medical emergencies, empowering the community with vital life saving skills as well as increasing the no. of AEDs available- they are actively trying to make our community safer for everyone.

⏰️ ​Nominations close on June 19th! ⏰

​📢 Please Share!
​We can't do this without you. Please share this post with your family, friends, neighbors, and local chat groups. A quick nomination from you could lead a life saved on our streets in the future ❤️

​Thank you all so much for your continued support! 🤜🤛❤️

​

03/06/2026

🏡 ATTENTION ALL ESTATES, RESIDENTIAL & COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS IN NAAS, SALLINS & JOHNSTOWN! 🏡🚨✨

​Did you know that 68% of all cardiac arrests in Ireland happen at home?
🏠❤️ This statistic makes a neighborhood defibrillator one of the most powerful tools a residential community can own.

​Whether your local association has just bought an AED, or you are considering fundraising for one, our team at Naas CFR has put together 6 important insider tips to ensure your investment stays truly "rescue-ready" when seconds count! ⏱️🎒👇

​🛡️ Top 6 AED Tips For Housing Estates & Community AEDs

​1️⃣ Buy the Right Equipment (Don't Skip the Heated Cabinet!) 🥶🌡️
An outdoor AED must be housed in a high-quality, heated outdoor cabinet (usually costing around €450–€465). When temperatures drop during an Irish winter, freezing cold can ruin the chemical gel on the electrode pads and drastically drain the internal battery. Heating keeps it safe!

​2️⃣ Choose a Highly Visible, Central Location 📍👀
Mount your cabinet in a prominent, central spot in the estate that everyone knows. Make sure it is installed at a reachable height so absolutely anyone—including shorter adults or teenagers running to fetch it—can access it easily.

​3️⃣ We Highly Recommend NO Locks or Keypads! 🔓❌
In a cardiac emergency, every single second counts. Scrambling to find a keypad code or waiting for an emergency dispatcher to read out a combination wastes precious time. If you are worried about tampering, install an alarmed cabinet instead. The loud siren acts as a massive deterrent, while keeping the door completely unlocked for a crisis.

​4️⃣ Publicise It to Absolutely Everyone 📢🏘️
Once it’s up, shout it from the rooftops! Make sure every single resident knows it's there. Don't forget to specifically inform renters and new neighbors who might not be on the estate's main email list or contributing to the annual residents' association fee.

​5️⃣ Register it with the National Ambulance Service (NAS) 📞🚑
Many estates completely miss this critical step! If your AED is not officially registered with the National Ambulance Service, the 999/112 dispatcher cannot see it on their system and cannot direct a caller to it. In the panic of a real emergency, local residents could easily forget it’s there—registration bridges that gap!

​6️⃣ Plan for Periodic Checks & Maintenance 🔧🧐
AEDs are incredibly durable and mostly look after themselves, but they are not a "set-and-forget" device. You need to budget and plan ahead for replacement parts:
​🟢 The Quick Check: Treat it like your smoke alarm! Regularly look through the cabinet window for the green blinking status light. Do a visual check for rain or water leakages.
​📅 The Lifespan Costs: Electrode pads expire and must be replaced every 2–3 years (approx. €60–€80). Main batteries last around 5 years (approx. €300–€350). If your cabinet uses an internal 9V battery for its alarm, that needs an annual swap too (€15).

​💡 Think of Your AED Like Insurance... 📜❤️
​You fundraise and install it hoping you will never have to use it. But if that critical moment ever arrives, you want 100% certainty that it is fully rescue-ready. The absolute worst-case scenario is running to an AED in a crisis only to discover the battery died or the pads expired a year ago. 😢🩹
​Unfortunately, our team has found several local AEDs over the years where fantastic residents did the amazing work of fundraising and installing, but sadly missed the vital registration and maintenance steps. 💔

​🤝 How Naas CFR Can Help Your Estate or community group (For FREE!) 🚑🌟

​Did you know that Naas CFR can guide your residents' & local associations through this entire process? We can provide expert advice on:
​🛒 Choosing the right AEDs & heated cabinets
​📍 Selecting the safest, most accessible estate locations
​📞 Walking you through the NAS registration paperwork

​🔧 WE CAN EVEN DO THE CHECKS FOR YOU! Our volunteers can adopt your estate's AED into our periodic checking loop and notify your committee months in advance when a part is due for replacement!
​We offer all of these advisory and checking services 100% free of charge to ensure your vital community asset remains ever rescue-ready! 🦸‍♂️❤️✨

​ 🚑✨🏡❤️🔒❌🔍🟢

02/06/2026

💊 MASSIVE COMMUNITY THANK YOU! 💊

​We want to send a huge shoutout and a massive thank you 🙌 to Niall and the fantastic team at Monread Pharmacy for their incredibly kind and generous donation of Aspirin for our kit bags! 🙏🌟

​Aspirin is an absolute vital life-saving drug carried in our first responder kit bags. It is used immediately during 999/112 emergency calls for patients experiencing chest pain or suspected cardiac events. ⏱️❤️🚑

This donation directly helps us protect lives right when every second counts!⏰️ and keep our kit bags stocked for the next few months 🙌

​Did you know that Naas CFR receives zero government funding? ​We rely 100% on the generosity, donations, and support of our amazing public, local community and fantastic businesses like Monread Pharmacy 🫶 to keep our volunteers kit bags stocked and out on the road responding to emergencies across Naas, Sallins, and Johnstown 🎒💪

🌟 ​Niall and all the crew at Monread Pharmacy, we are incredibly grateful for your support! Thank you for helping us keep our community heart-safe! 🤜🤛❤️

​ 🚑🚨💊🎒✨

01/06/2026

🎉 FINAL 10KM DONE AND DUSTED OF OUR 20KM WEEKEND!! 🎉🥾💨

​Luckily the clouds parted and the rain cleared away just in time for our 10km looped walk around Naas today! 🌤️🙏
Following on from some of our amazing team members conquering yesterday’s Vhi Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin, we kept the momentum flying high right here at home! 🏃‍♀️🏅✨

​🏆 A MASSIVE SHOUTOUT! 🏆
We have to give a huge well done to our incredible Chairperson & Coordinator, Martina! 🦸‍♀️ That is leadership in action—she smashed a massive 20km over the past 2 days, pulling double duty by rocking the Mini Marathon yesterday and leading our 10km visibility walk today! Absolute superstar! 🥇💪🔥

​🐾 OUR FOUR-LEGGED SUPPORT CREW! 🐾🐕
We also had some very special, furry friends out in full support keeping our spirits high today! A huge thank you to our brilliant mascots Molly, Layla, and Cooper for keeping the team company and putting smiles on everyone's faces! 🐶❤️🐾

​We had an absolute blast out on the roads and got plenty of supportive beeps from passing cars and waves from fantastic locals along the way! 👋🚗📣

Your energy kept our high-vis crew marching strong from start to finish! 🏃‍♂️💨❤️

​📊 WE ARE SO CLOSE TO OUR TARGET! 📊
Our iDonate total is currently sitting at a whopping €977! 🤯💶 We are just €23 away from hitting the magic €1,000 milestone! 🤩🎯

​Can you help us tip it over the edge this evening? 📲👇
🔗 https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/martinabonnermullaney 🔗

​⚠️ GOOD NEWS: Our online fundraiser will remain open until the weekend, so there is still plenty of time to chip in if you haven't had a chance yet! Every single euro goes straight back into buying life-saving equipment and supporting our 100% volunteer emergency response team across Naas, Sallins, and Johnstown. 🩺🩹🚑

​Thank you all so much for the incredible support over this massive Bank Holiday weekend—you guys are amazing! 🤜🤛❤️

​ 🚑🎒🌤️❤️🐕🐾

31/05/2026

🏃‍♀️🏅 ROUND 1 DONE! 🏅🏃‍♀️ ROUND 2 TOMORROW!!! 💪🙌

​Huge congrats to Martina, Julie and the gang for smashing the Dublin Women's Mini Marathon today! 🙌 The recovery is underway, because tomorrow we do it all over again.
The legs are up, the stretches are happening, and we are absolutely buzzing after a fab 10km.🌟

​But we aren't stopping there! Tomorrow is Round 2—another 10km, and this time we’ll have the rest of the Naas CFR team and some brilliant furry friends joining us for our current fundraiser. 🐕🐾

​Keep an eye out for us tomorrow in our high-vis gear! If you see us out and about, please give us a beep or a wave to keep us moving! 👋🚗 We'll be hitting Naas' streets from 2pm!

​❤️ There’s still time to support! We are raising vital funds to get atleast another life-saving AED into town. Every little bit helps. Check out the link below to donate! 👉 https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/martinabonnermullaney

30/05/2026

🙌 HUGE COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT & MASSIVE THANK YOU! 🫶

​Back in late February, our team approached Andrew Cross and the fantastic crew at Cross' Centra Hazelmere Naas enquiring whether they would be open to hosting a public access AED for us! 🤝
​We had identified the Hazelmere/Ballycane area as a massive priority for our town due to its large, dense residential population and its distance from other public-access defibrillators. 🏡📉

We knew Centra would be the absolute perfect, high-profile location—right in the heart of the community where everyone could find it in a real emergency! 📍

​Originally, our plan was to hit the pavements and fundraise for this AED and heated cabinet ourselves... but Andrew and his team decided to do one better! 🌟
​Instead of just hosting it, they incredibly stepped up and decided to fully sponsor the entire cost to purchase the unit and completely protect their local community and customers! 🦸‍♂️❤️💯

​Andrew and the team at Centra Hazelmere, we cannot thank you enough! 🙌🥳 This selfless donation means a life-saving device is now standing guard right where it is needed most. ⏱️

​🏢 CALLING ALL LOCAL BUSINESSES! 💼🤝

​Did you know that Naas CFR is a fully registered charity since 31st March? ✅
This means we can accept corporate donations or sponsorships and issue official charity receipts for your business tax purposes! 📈
​If your business is interested in fully sponsoring an AED, helping us fund a heated cabinet, or helping to kit out our frontline volunteer responders with essential gear & training equipment - we would love to hear from you! 🚑🎒🛡️

​📧 Please get in touch with Martina at [email protected] to see how your business can help save lives just like Cross' Centra across Naas, Sallins, and Johnstown! 📩🗣️❤️

​ 🚑💨🏪❤️🏃‍♂️🛡️

28/05/2026

🤩 ANOTHER GREAT TRAINING NIGHT! 🤩

​A massive thank you to everyone who joined us for our very first open public training night! 👐❤️

We had a fantastic turnout, and we hope everyone enjoyed it and went home with some life-saving new skills. 🩺✨

​Our brilliant attendees covered:
👶 Infant choking, CPR & AED use
👧 Child choking, CPR & AED use
🧍 Adult choking, CPR & AED use

​🗳️ WE NEED YOUR VOTE! (Takes 2 Mins) 🗳️

While you're here, please help us secure vital funding for Naas, Sallins & Johnstown through the AIB Community €1 Million Fund! Nominations are open, and your vote could help us buy more community equipment. 🤞
🔗 Nominate us here: https://aib.ie/personal-forms/community-fund
📋 Details you'll need: > • Charity Name: Naas Community First Responders
• Charity Number (RCN): 20207026
• Region: Leinster / Kildare
• Theme: Other

​🥾 THE COUNTDOWN TO SUNDAY IS ON! 🥾

Thank you so much for all the incredibly kind donations we've received so far as we prepare for our big 20km walk this Sunday! 🎒💪
If you see our high-vis crew out on the roads this weekend, please give us a massive wave, a honk, and a cheer! 👋🚗💨 Link below if you want to help us make our target to buy another community AED : https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/martinabonnermullaney

​ ❤️