Brendan O'Connor
“Thank you isn’t nearly enough” - finding the good Samaritan who saved his life
09 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What happened to Brian Boyd on the Dublin street?
Journalist Brian Boyd, good morning. Hi, Brendan. Brian, people might recall we spoke to you last week. So not to put too fine a point in it, you dropped out in Darniebrook about a month ago. You have no memory of it. But as far as you could find out afterwards, a woman, a doctor came along and basically brought you back to life.
She declined to tell the emergency services on the scene or anyone her name. You were hoping last week that you could find her just so you could thank her. So would you like us to fill in some of the blanks for you? Very much so, please. Okay, so bear with us. Laura Madden, good morning.
Good morning, Brendan. Hi.
Hi. Now, Laura, you were not that doctor, but you were there. Ironically, I think you were on the way to a medical appointment when you came upon the scene.
I was. I'm expecting a baby now in June, so... I was on my way to my own prenatal appointment, driving past when I spotted, it turns out it's Brian, unconscious on the footpath. So I pulled over to see if I could be of any assistance.
So what was happening at that point and how did you become, how did you become involved?
I was driving past and I spotted Brian. He was face down, not moving on top of his bike. And there was a number of people standing around him. So I pulled my car in to see if I could help. And I met the doctor that I can't remember her name, unfortunately, saying I can't find a pulse. So I said, okay, I'll assist you to help to turn him over because I'm a physio.
And I assisted her to turn him onto his back. He wasn't breathing in a normal pattern and we couldn't find a pulse. So we decided to start CPR at that stage.
Okay, so that involved, the doctor was doing the CPR and you did mouth-to-mouth, is that correct?
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Chapter 2: Who were the key individuals involved in saving Brian's life?
He was still unconscious. And I started just mentally taking notes of how many cycles of CPR We were doing so. That doctor did two cycles and then another two male doctors arrived and they were happy to swap in. It's essential to have people swap in for CPR cycles because it really is very physical.
So they swapped in and delivered a further eight cycles of CPR while I stayed at Brian's head and delivered breath. And then the ambulance arrived, they were able to put in an airway that would be more effective than my pocket mask.
Okay. So what did you do then?
Chapter 3: How did Laura Madden become involved in the rescue effort?
I stepped out of the way and I linked with the head paramedic or the person in charge of taking notes because It's really important that we're giving all the details to the hospital. Unfortunately, only about 10% of people survive an out-of-hospital arrest. So I had actually asked somebody to start a timer so we could have an accurate record of how much time Brian was down.
But they had left when I went looking for that information. So I was able to relay that we had done 10 rounds of CPR
um and breath in between and then obviously the ambulance arrived and they started applying the defibrillator and giving shocks and medications okay brian how are you feeling so far hearing all that did that dizzy dizzy and thrilled um i mean thank god it was laura laura thank you seems redundant but i'm so glad it was you and uh
Best of luck with your baby. You sound like a really remarkable mum. So this is two layers of luck you've had so far, Brian, right?
That the original doctor, who we do not know who she was, and she clearly wants to stay out of this. And then the fact that Laura knew and came along and knew all the ancillary things that she knew how to do and had that piece of equipment and everything else, right? So... Let's take it on another bit, Brian, right? Dr. Cahill de Buclair, good morning. Good morning, Brendan. How are you?
Fine, thanks, Cahill. So, Cahill, by an amazing fluke, you're a consultant in emergency medicine. You happen to be in the gym across the road while all this was unfolding. And was your wife outside and saw it and rang you? Is that right?
Yes, so basically what happened was, so we'd walked up to the gym and I'd say, we must have just missed Brian coming off the bike because we walked past where it happened. And I went into the gym and she stayed outside to make a phone call. And then, so I was in the gym and she rings me and says, there's a guy getting CPR outside, so I should come up.
So I came out straight away, went across the road and just introduced myself to Dublin Fire Brigade, who had just arrived, asked if there was anything I could do to help. And there was actually, so there was, as well as the first two, Laura and the first of the doctors, there was also, there was a second, there was a male, like a younger junior doctor who was at this stage performing CPR.
And he just happened on things as well?
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Chapter 4: What steps were taken during the CPR process?
So it happened on a Wednesday. My memory stops at Tuesday lunchtime when I said goodbye to a friend who was flying back to Boston. Really? And it only came back. Oh, yeah. On the Tuesday. So I don't even know what I was doing in Donnybrook that day.
I do know when I got my clothes back when I was discharged from Vincent's, they were all in ribbons, they had to be cut off me, so I knew it was quite serious. So just for these people to fill in what happened to me, I'm so grateful for that. I think it will aid my recovery because for the last six weeks I've been in the dark, totally.
So that day itself, my memory didn't come back until the following Monday when I was on very, very heavy doses of ketamine and very, very seriously ill, for instance. You know, it takes a village. It took a village. It took Donnybrook Village that day to stand up and get around me and support me and bring me back to life.
I'm ever so grateful to everyone involved, the doctor and everyone, the physio, everyone. Thank you very, very much.
Laura, did you know before Brian came on with us last week if he had survived? Had you thought about him or wondered about him afterwards?
Of course I did. I've actually, I've worked in ICU and I have experience with very sick people, but that acute episode of CPR is Something I'm trained for, but I've never had to deliver. I didn't even know his name. So similar to the consultant there, I text a friend and said there was an out-of-hospital arrest. Do you happen to know if they survived the night?
And they were able to say yes, but obviously I'm not a next of kin, so a name was never shared with me. And actually, hilariously, I was sitting on my couch and flicking through social media when a TikTok of Brian popped up. And I leapt off the couch. I said to my husband, check WhatsApp. What date was that? You know, was it the 1st of April? And it was.
And I've thought about you multiple times since because I know the odds are so slim. So I'm so thrilled to see you up and about. If I might just add a traumatic experience like this, then many of my patients after ICU would have similar questions where there's gaps in their memories that they really feel they need support filling in. It's quite common. There is a resource called ICU Steps.
If you search them online, that might be useful just to help process all that's happened because it's very, very normal to have questions and want those gaps filled in. And then lastly, just to say if anyone has been putting off doing their first aid training or CPR, it's a really useful tool to have under your belt. You never know when a loved one might need your assistance.
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