THE DEFIBRILLATOR AT the summit of Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo is currently out of service after it was vandalised in recent days. 

Darren Forde, the creator of the Eco Powered Cabinets which store the defibrillators on the mountain, said the vandalism was “very disappointing for everyone involved” and that the defibrillator at the top of the mountain will be out of service until further notice.

Defibrillators administer electric current to the heart and are used in medical emergencies. 

“The whole lot was bashed open with a stone to actually get into it. They didn’t even need to do that because it wasn’t locked,” Forde told Midwest radio. 

“And then they took out the defibrillator and took the pads out to the back of it. And funny enough, this is the second time this has happened. It happened three months ago as well. 

“They just opened it and took out the defib and took the pads outward and took one or two bits for some reasons. So it’s got a long story short, it’s out of action at the moment now.”

The electronics inside the weatherproof casing have been compromised by rain water, Forde said. 

He told Midwest Radio that the defibrillator was lifted to the mountain top by the Irish Air Corps and that to hire a private helicopter to do the job would cost €4,500. 

“It’s just, it’s very annoying to say that it’s out of action at the moment, for some stupidity and the people that damaged it. I just can’t get the head around it because I actually thought we wouldn’t have to lock the unit or put a camera in it on top of the holy mountain.,” Forde said.