Portlaoise Community First Responders

10/10/2026

‼️Important Notice‼️
The public access AED is back operational at the Coote Street phone box.

We are once again urging people to NEVER tamper with a public access AED. These are vital pieces of lifesaving equipment. If you notice anything suspicious at any of the local AEDS, please get in contact with us or with An Garda Siochana.

‼️URGENT NOTICE‼️

The Coote Street AED is temporarily out of use. Please make yourself aware of your nearest operational AED while the Coote Street AED is out of service.

We want to highlight again the importance of NEVER tampering with an AED. These are vital pieces of life saving equipment, that are installed and purchased through fundraising and generous donations from the community. Please respect these life saving pieces of equipment.

If you see any signs of tampering at a Public Access Defibrillator, please contact us on social media, or email us via : [email protected]

Please keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram for updates as to when the Coote Street AED will be back operational.
-Portlaoise Community First Responders

06/10/2026

World Restart a Heart day is October 16th, a day for spreading CPR awareness and knowledge across the globe.

Portlaoise Community First Responders are happy to announce that we will be in the Laois Shopping Centre Saturday October 17th, from 10am-2pm.

Some of our first responders will be there to raise awareness and provide knowledge on CPR and how to use an AED.
Come along and meet us!

📍Laois Shopping Centre
📆 Saturday October 17th
🕜 10am - 2pm

30/09/2026

‼️URGENT NOTICE‼️

The Coote Street AED is temporarily out of use. Please make yourself aware of your nearest operational AED while the Coote Street AED is out of service.

We want to highlight again the importance of NEVER tampering with an AED. These are vital pieces of life saving equipment, that are installed and purchased through fundraising and generous donations from the community. Please respect these life saving pieces of equipment.

If you see any signs of tampering at a Public Access Defibrillator, please contact us on social media, or email us via : [email protected]

Please keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram for updates as to when the Coote Street AED will be back operational.
-Portlaoise Community First Responders

29/09/2026

September 29th is World Heart Day ❤️
It’s important to look after your health and your heart, but to also know what to do in case of heart related emergencies!

👉🏻Dial 112/999 in an emergency

👉🏻Know how to perform CPR

👉🏻Know where your nearest local AED is located

Knowing what to do during a heart attack and cardiac arrest can be vital to help save a life, make sure to make yourself aware of what to do!

and if you’re interested in learning CPR, message us on social media or email us on : [email protected] to enquire about our next free certified CPR and AED courses

❤️Happy World Heart Day❤️

24/09/2026

We look forward to seeing anyone in attendance this evening!❤️
We’ll be in the library from 6:30pm-7:30pm!

Portlaoise Community First Responders are hosting an information evening this Thursday, September 24th from 6:30pm-7:30pm in Portlaoise Library!
Join us this coming Thursday to meet members of the team, as well as access information regarding the following:

👉🏻 Learn how to Register your AED with the National Ambulance Service
👉🏻 Access information on how your housing estate can receive funding for a Public Access AED
👉🏻 Learn more about our free certified CPR and AED use courses, and about our 2027 availability.
👉🏻Information on Sponsoring an AED. Are you a community group, business or individual looking to help the community further? If you’re interested in sponsoring an AED for the Portlaoise community, come along on Thursday to find out more.

We look forward to seeing you there!❤️

21/09/2026

Portlaoise Community First Responders are hosting an information evening this Thursday, September 24th from 6:30pm-7:30pm in Portlaoise Library!
Join us this coming Thursday to meet members of the team, as well as access information regarding the following:

👉🏻 Learn how to Register your AED with the National Ambulance Service
👉🏻 Access information on how your housing estate can receive funding for a Public Access AED
👉🏻 Learn more about our free certified CPR and AED use courses, and about our 2027 availability.
👉🏻Information on Sponsoring an AED. Are you a community group, business or individual looking to help the community further? If you’re interested in sponsoring an AED for the Portlaoise community, come along on Thursday to find out more.

We look forward to seeing you there!❤️

15/09/2026

Just a reminder, we’re urging all Businesses, sports clubs, community groups, hotels and medical facilities to consider registering their AED with the National Ambulance Service. Doing so can help to save a life.

We have also linked out GoFundMe below, as part of our ongoing campaign to raise funds towards more public access AEDs in Portlaoise. Thank you for your support ❤️

https://gofund.me/e3d7dc977

Throughout September, we want to raise awareness of Public Access AEDs alongside our current campaign to install more Public Access AEDs across Portlaoise.

We’re encouraging all local Businesses, Sports clubs, Schools and Community Groups to considering registering their AED with the National Ambulance service.

Here are some important facts to know to highlight the difference registering your AED can make in a cardiac arrest :

👉🏻 The survival rate of a cardiac arrest increases to 50-75% when an AED is used in within 3 minutes.

👉🏻A bystander using an AED increases the survival rate to 38-50% percent in cases of cardiac arrest.

👉🏻For every minute without using an AED, the survival rate drops by 7-10%

Registering your AED allows the National Ambulance Service to direct callers to the nearest AED once an Eircode is provided during a cardiac arrest 112/999 call.
Having more registered AEDs across Portlaoise can help the community in a cardiac arrest to get to the nearest AED to them, and increase the chance of survival. It’s vital to the community of Portlaoise to have as many Public Access AEDs as possible.

You can scan the QR code, or click the link below to register your AED! 👇🏻
Additionally, we can assist in helping you register your AED, if you have any questions or need assistance, please email [email protected]

https://surveys.hse.ie/t/AED_Form/

We can also arrange free checks for your AED to ensure it’s functional, as well as information sessions on how to register your AED You can contact us via our email to arrange one of these sessions!

Alongside this, we are continuing to raise funds to install more Public Access AEDs across Portlaoise.
If you’re interested in supporting us, you can do so via our GoFundMe below👇🏻

https://gofund.me/8ff5cdc46

03/09/2026

Throughout September, we want to raise awareness of Public Access AEDs alongside our current campaign to install more Public Access AEDs across Portlaoise.

We’re encouraging all local Businesses, Sports clubs, Schools and Community Groups to considering registering their AED with the National Ambulance service.

Here are some important facts to know to highlight the difference registering your AED can make in a cardiac arrest :

👉🏻 The survival rate of a cardiac arrest increases to 50-75% when an AED is used in within 3 minutes.

👉🏻A bystander using an AED increases the survival rate to 38-50% percent in cases of cardiac arrest.

👉🏻For every minute without using an AED, the survival rate drops by 7-10%

Registering your AED allows the National Ambulance Service to direct callers to the nearest AED once an Eircode is provided during a cardiac arrest 112/999 call.
Having more registered AEDs across Portlaoise can help the community in a cardiac arrest to get to the nearest AED to them, and increase the chance of survival. It’s vital to the community of Portlaoise to have as many Public Access AEDs as possible.

You can scan the QR code, or click the link below to register your AED! 👇🏻
Additionally, we can assist in helping you register your AED, if you have any questions or need assistance, please email [email protected]

https://surveys.hse.ie/t/AED_Form/

We can also arrange free checks for your AED to ensure it’s functional, as well as information sessions on how to register your AED You can contact us via our email to arrange one of these sessions!

Alongside this, we are continuing to raise funds to install more Public Access AEDs across Portlaoise.
If you’re interested in supporting us, you can do so via our GoFundMe below👇🏻

https://gofund.me/8ff5cdc46

08/08/2026

Thanks to Leinster Express / Laois Live for their great article about our new campaign! over the coming days we’ll be sharing details on how businesses and individuals can sponsor an AED or heated box.

We have a live GoFund Me to raise funds for more Public Access AEDs across Portlaoise, if you’d like to donate, the link is below! 👇
Please share to raise awareness of our campaign.❤️

https://gofund.me/db7abf3f3

Big hearted volunteers in Portlaoise Community First Responders launch campaign for more public defibrillators

05/08/2026

Today marks the official launch of our Public Access Defibrillator campaign.

The main goal of this campaign is to install a minimum of 5 additional public access AEDs across Portlaoise. This will allow any members of the community to have easy access to an AED should a situation arise.
We also have additional goals including the following:
❤️CPR and AED demo sessions to help remove the fear of what to do in a Cardiac Arrest.
❤️lobbying local and government representatives for the installation of Public Access AEDs in any new housing developments in Portlaoise.
❤️Assisting established housing estates to install their own Public Access Defibrillator
❤️Register your AED: We are urging all businesses, sports clubs, retail outlets hotels etc to register their AED with the National Ambulance Service. You can contact us for further details.

This will be a long running campaign, and we are calling on members of the public, businesses and community groups to consider donating. We will have a GoFund Me launching tomorrow that will be used to run this campaign.

We want to thank everyone who attended our campaign launch today, including Cathaoirleach Catherine Fitzgerald, Cllr Barry Walsh, Deputy Sean Fleming, Laois People , Leinster Express / Laois Live and members of the Portlaoise Fire service. We also want to thank those who couldn’t attended but showed their support otherwise.

We also want to thank all the members of the community for their continued support❤️
You can watch our campaign launch speech below, where our Group Coordinator Colm Owens and our Fundraising Coordinator Claire Dunne outlined the goals of this campaign.