Fundraiser for Cork search and rescue volunteer Dinnie

Locals in a southside bar will next month endure a waxathon to raise funds for a search and recovery volunteer who died for four minutes during a medical incident.

Baker’s Rd native Dinnie Kiely has, for quarter of a century, been a volunteer with Cork City Missing Persons Search and Recovery (CCMPSAR), bringing peace to families who are grieving missing persons.

On August 19, while out searching by the banks of the Lee for the telephone of a missing person who had been found deceased, Mr Kiely collapsed, having suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and an aneurysm, which left him clinically dead for around four minutes.

His friends from CCMPSAR performed CPR before he could be rushed to CUH, where he spent three weeks in a coma.

He remained in hospital until the end of September, missing out on his 60th birthday, before he could return to his home in The Glen, and his two children and his partner Teresa.

On Saturday, December 6, The Harp Bar in Ballyphehane will host a waxathon, in which five brave locals will undergo a waxing by local beautician Laura Ahern from Salon 221.

Áine McLaughlin, owner of The Harp Bar, has organised many fundraisers for CCMPSAR, having lost her brother in 2007, and this year alone she has raised €5,000 for the charity.

She said she was hoping to raise “at least €1,000” to help Mr Kiely in his recovery.

Chris O’Donovan, CCMPSAR search co-ordinator, said Mr Kiely was a compassionate man who had given 25 years as a volunteer.

“Dinnie has always put other people first, he’s never asked for anything, so we’re asking for him, we’re asking people to give a few bob to help him,” he said.

See https://tinyurl.com/2x5xrt74