Aodhagan O’Sullivan, a student at St Brendan’s College, Killarney, has been named the 2026 School CPR Challenge Champion.

The prestigious award was presented on Thursday, 26 February, during a large-scale event at the Gleneagle Hotel, where approximately 300 students from post-primary schools across the county gathered to compete for the title of “who can compress the best.”

Now in its fourth year, the event is organised by the Killarney Cardiac Response Unit (KCRU) Community First Responders.

The KCRU is a volunteer-led group that provides vital emergency response services to Killarney, Beaufort, Killorglin, Firies, Rathmore, and Kenmare.

The challenge focused on “Quality CPR” (QCPR), combining a high-stakes competition with practical life-saving training and the chance for students to engage directly with local emergency and community services.

The competition utilised advanced QCPR technology to measure the depth and rate of compressions, ensuring that students aren’t just learning the motions, but are performing life-saving techniques to a clinical standard.

Beyond the competitive element, the day served as an educational hub, highlighting the “chain of survival” and the importance of immediate bystander intervention in the event of a cardiac arrest.

The 2026 challenge was made possible through the support of the Vodafone Foundation, The Gleneagle Hotel, and First Aid Systems Ltd, alongside a variety of local sponsors. Organisers praised the enthusiasm of the 300 participants, noting that such events are essential for building a “heart-safe” community and equipping the next generation with the skills to save a life.

Killarney councillors are seeking an urgent face-to-face meeting with the HSE to prevent the town’s health infrastructure from falling into further decay.

At Wednesday’s Municipal District meeting, Cllr Maura Healy-Rae raised a motion calling for clarity on the HSE’s long-term plans for its significant property holdings within the town.

The focus of the concern is the sprawling St Finan’s Hospital site, which has been lying derelict since the facility closed its doors in 2012.

Despite sitting on prime land, the Victorian structure has remained idle for 14 years with no progress on redevelopment.

While the new Community Nursing Unit has been built on a portion of the St Finan’s grounds, the vast majority of the historic site continues to deteriorate.

The concern among local representatives is that a “domino effect” of dereliction could follow once the new hospital eventually opens.

When residents are transferred to the new unit, both the existing Killarney District Hospital and the St Columbanus Home (the proposed new home for a minor injuries unit) will be vacated.
Cllr Healy-Rae and her colleagues are demanding guarantees that these buildings will not suffer the same fate as St Finan’s.

Without a clear strategy from the HSE, there are fears that Killarney could be left with multiple large-scale derelict sites in prominent locations, rather than seeing these buildings repurposed for housing, community use, or further healthcare needs.