Birr native David McEvoy has been named Volunteer of the Year at the Volunteer Ireland Awards for his dedication to Birr First Responders. David started the group in 2012 after the passing of his father. David’s father suffered a cardiac arrest and, having only been trained 3 weeks previously, he was able to perform CPR for 42 minutes until help arrived. Although David’s father passed the following month, his training was vital to allow him to give his father an extra few weeks with his family. This spurred David to begin the Birr First Responder group. In almost five years since they began, they have answered 568 calls and made a significant impact on the community. David had been a member of the fire service until illness meant he could no longer continue. He now dedicates all of this time to the group having missed only two calls in five years. He’s also passionate about training the community in CPR and has trained over 500 school children in Birr. To read more about David and all of the nominees click here.