Coolmore steps in to provide crucial funds for life-saving air ambulance service

With International Air Ambulance Week taking place between September 5 and 13, Coolmore Stud has pledged a three-year financial commitment to Irish Community Rapid Response (ICRR), the charity running Ireland's first community-funded air ambulance.

The air ambulance has been called upon on several occasions to tend to stricken jockeys, including Grand National-winning rider David Mullins last October at Thurles.

The Coolmore team are fully aware of the importance of the vital service, with Ana O'Brien praising the work of the team who helped her in the immediate aftermath of a serious fall at Killarney in 2017.

The apprentice rider escaped with a fractured C1 vertebra in her neck and T6 in her back, as well as fractured cheek bones bilaterally.

"If I was to have travelled by car I don't know what could have happened or what way things could have ended up," she told Virgin Media News. "I was blessed that they were able to come for me at the time, everything worked out well thankfully."

Ana O'Brien: 'I was blessed that they were able to come for me at the time, everything worked out well thankfully'Credit: Patrick McCann

Aidan O'Brien added: "We have a lot of first-hand incidents here, it happens on a monthly basis when you're dealing with horses, but Ana had a very bad fall at Killarney and only for the air ambulance, the outcome could have been much different."

The ICRR Air Ambulance was launched on July 30 last year, since when then they have responded to more than 575 calls.

Each mission costs €3,500 on average and the charity is campaigning for people across Ireland to sign up to become Friends of the Air Ambulance.

A spokesperson for Coolmore said: "In the horseracing and breeding industry, we are comforted by the knowledge that we can have such high levels of advance paramedic care at our side in minutes, when we need it most.

"Prompt pre-hospital care can, and does, make the difference between life and death. It is our hope this multi-year donation will give the air ambulance sustainable income and will encourage other high-level corporate donors to get on board."

Michael Lowry: 'Lives have been saved and we hope that this generous donation from the Magnier family will allow it to continue in its vital work'Credit: Patrick McCann

Prominent Tipperary TD Michael Lowry welcomed the move and spoke of the organisation's importance for the area.

"Lives have been saved and we hope that this generous donation from the Magnier family will allow it to continue in its vital work," said Lowry.

"I hope households all over the country will consider becoming Friends of the Air Ambulance. We can sustain its future for as little as €10 a month. It's a service for every family in Ireland – long may it continue."

John Finnegan, chair of ICRR's board of directors, added: "The Coolmore brand is instantly recognisable the world over. Having their backing at the launch of International Air Ambulance Week will give other donors the impetus to get behind us."

Visit icrr.ie or call 021 4190999 to sign up.

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