It was just after 4pm last Sunday when the O’Sullivan family were pottering around their home in Whitebridge, as many other families would have been doing before busy week of work, school and college. Dad, Sean had settled down to watch the Cork vs. Tipperary hurling match. The local Garda is a native of West Cork so the hurling is always high on the agenda in the household.

His 24-year-old son, Seán Óg, had just returned from walking the family dog, Finn. The pair were catching up on the earlier Waterford vs. Offaly result when something suddenly changed in Seán Óg’s demeanour. He had slumped into his seat, and his father immediately noticed something was wrong when his son's breathing had turned erratic, and he was gasping for air.

Within seconds, the situation escalated. Seán Óg became unresponsive. Just as his younger brother Conor (15) walked into the room, he asked his father, “Is Seán asleep?” But Seán Sr. already knew something was very wrong. Panic set in, but training and instinct took over.

Calling emergency services, Seán followed the dispatcher’s instructions, laying his son on the ground and his brother Conor began CPR with dad quickly taking over. For nine relentless minutes, he kept going with compressions until paramedics arrived at 4:10 pm.  His middle son, Gary, had come down from upstairs where he’d been studying for his final year primary school teaching exams in the middle of it all and described the traumatic experience as “a bit of a blur.”

Despite being a fit, healthy 6’1” non-smoker with no known medical history, Seán Óg had gone into cardiac arrest. The first responders took over, deploying a defibrillator and working on him for a further 20 minutes before the air ambulance landed in a nearby field in Whitebridge. He was flown to Cork University Hospital in just 15 minutes.

“The paramedics told us that Dad’s CPR is what kept the oxygen flowing - it’s what saved Seán’s life,” said Gary.

Speaking to the Killarney Advertiser, Gary expressed deep gratitude for his father’s quick-thinking actions and paid tribute to the emergency teams whose rapid response made all the difference. He also wanted to highlight the importance of CPR training.

“You never think it’ll happen to you, or in your house,” Gary said. “But it can. And thanks to Dad and the emergency services, Seán is still with us.”

Seán Óg, who works as a HR professional with Jones Engineering in Cork, remains in CUH for observation. Early tests suggest a thickening of the heart wall, which may have disrupted oxygen flow during the incident but doctors will conduct further examinations in the coming days.

The O’Sullivans say they have been overwhelmed by the kindness of neighbours, friends, and extended family since the event.

“On behalf of our family that we also want to express our deepest gratitude to Advanced Paramedic Brian Kelly and his incredible team for their swift and professional response. We’ll never forget the compassion and urgency they showed during such a terrifying moments, we are truly grateful beyond words”.