“Eóin was a big character, and a big part of the farming community”
The family of a young farmer who tragically passed away last year following a cardiac arrest, aged just 31, say they don’t want this devastation to happen to anyone else.
It comes after a group of compassionate Northern Ireland farmers have honoured the memory of one of their own, Eóin Lynch.
More than 200 took part in the fundraising event – in memory of local farmer Eóin – which involved farmers driving their tractors on convoy following a particular route around Park in Co Derry. They raised a staggering £30,500 for the British Heart Foundation NI in the process.
READ MORE: British Heart Foundation reveals ‘deadly misconceptions’ around heart disease in Northern IrelandREAD MORE: ‘My dad died suddenly from inherited condition – I want to give back in his memory’
Eóin was a beloved member of the Park/Craigbane community and his death in April 2024 after suffering a cardiac arrest at such a young age hit his family and farming friends hard.
Now, for ‘Restart a Heart’ month, this October, Eóin’s mum Bernadette is sharing his story to raise awareness and highlight the importance of CPR training amongst local communities to help increase out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.
Bernadette said: “Eóin was a big character, and a big part of the farming community. He worked in the local agriculture store offering advice and knowledge to the wider community. He was the kindest soul and a great big brother to his five younger siblings.
“He managed his own farm and had been due to start his new job in April. He’d gone to return his laptop and phone to his previous employer and had come home to check his cattle at the farm and tend to one of his cows that wasn’t well.
“He called in at the house to see us before going out that evening with his partner Oisin. He met up with his partner and friends at the bar and then they went to their friend’s house and were sitting outside in their garden.
Bernadette added: “Eóin loved dancing and while he was there he was teaching his friend’s daughters some line-dances. When he sat down his friend had asked him a question and Eóin hadn’t answered him, which was very unusual as Eóin liked to chat.
“His partner Oisin looked at Eóin to see what was wrong with him and he knew immediately something wasn’t right as Eóin was staring blankly. Oisin went over to him and held Eóin as he started falling off the stool and lowered him onto the ground.
“They realised it was serious and a friend rushed over to the neighbour’s house for help, as he was a fireman and trained in CPR. He started CPR whilst Oisin called emergency services and when the first responder and ambulance arrived, they took over CPR.
“They managed to get him stabilised and took him to hospital where he was put into an induced coma. He was in ICU for the next week and we were told the heartbreaking news that they weren’t getting any response and there was nothing more they could do.”
On April 5 2024, Eóin’s ventilator was turned off, and aged just 31, Eóin passed away in the Intensive Care Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital surrounded by his family and partner.
Bernadette added: “They carried out tests but there wasn’t anything definitive that they could say caused the cardiac arrest. Afterwards, we all got checked for heart conditions, as it was a real fear that if this could happen to Eóin, I couldn’t risk losing another child. Thankfully everything was normal and nothing genetic was detected.
“Eóin was an organ donor, and donated his kidneys. He was always helping others so it’s very fitting that he still did this beyond his passing.
“My youngest daughter Erin often said she had mammy and daddy and Eóin was the third parent. He was the problem-solver in the family. His attitude was if there was a way of doing it, he would find it.
“He had so much potential and all he ever wanted to do was to help people and do the best he could. He was out on the farm, helping his dad from a very young age and he saw first-hand the long hours and hard labour they put in to survive.
“He obtained his degree and Masters in Agriculture and he wanted to combine his hands-on knowledge with the scientific knowledge to make farming more profitable and less labour intensive.”
With the Park farmers raising over £30,000 for British Heart Foundation, Bernadette said Eóin would have been very proud: “Eóin wouldn’t have realised that so many people knew him and appreciated him. He was modest about the advice he gave.
“When the medical staff explained what had happened to Eóin, we did our research. Cardiac arrests outside of hospital have low survival rates and even if they do survive, their quality of life can be seriously impacted.
“It’s shocking how many people under the age of 35 are lost to sudden cardiac arrest. People who are just in the prime of their life. As a family we wanted to support the British Heart Foundation and the research work they do in this area as we don’t want this devastation to happen to anyone else.”
Orla Copeland, BHF NI Fundraising Manager, said: “Too many lives, like Eóin’s, are being taken too soon by sudden cardiac death. No-one should have to experience the loss of their child, sibling or partner, but sadly this is the cruel reality of heart disease – it doesn’t discriminate.
“We’re so thankful to the fundraising efforts of the Park Farmers group and the Lynch family, who have raised an incredible amount of money to fund lifesaving research, to help prevent other families from going through this heartbreak.”
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