A WEST Cork man who suffered a cardiac arrest in Bantry last year is searching for the woman who helped to save his life.
Finbarr O'Sullivan was in O’Keefe’s Supervalu in Bantry on May 2nd, 2025, when he collapsed from a heart attack.
A woman, believed to be an American paramedic visiting the area on holidays, stepped in to provide life-saving CPR to Finbarr, keeping him alive until the ambulance arrived.
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Speaking to Patricia Messenger on C103 last week, Finbarr described the woman as his ‘guardian angel.’
His day in Bantry was like any other; he enjoyed a meal in the Maritime Hotel, and then popped over to Supervalu to pick up some shopping.
Finbarr says he does not remember much of the events of the day, only waking up in hospital following his cardiac arrest.
‘I decided I would do a few bits and pieces in Supervalu in Bantry and I was in the queue for the till and I remember no more.
‘I had actually phoned my friend Buddy’s Cabs and he was waiting outside to bring me home…I live alone. I would have been dead in the house.’
Finbarr was in line for the till when he collapsed, hitting his head on the ground.
The paramedic behind him in the queue instantly leapt into action and administered CPR.
Finbarr spent 49 days recuperating in CUH, and then a further week in Bantry Hospital. He is back in good health now, and wants to locate the woman who saved his life.
‘Now I’m hoping that she had friends in Bantry, or was she staying in Bantry, or was she just passing through, I just don’t know, but she was going back to America the following morning.’
This information came from one of the managers at O’Keefe’s, who tried to find the woman after the medical emergency had been dealt with, but she had already left the shop.
The woman in question would have been travelling from West Cork to America on May 3rd, and may have been with friends or a partner.
Anyone who may know the identity of the ‘guardian angel’ is encouraged to contact C103.
