Dr. Eibhlín Ó Riain
Chairperson
Retired consultant cardiologist, thirty-one years in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital. Chairs the board and the clinical standards subcommittee.
About us
We began with one funeral and a list of names.
Munster Heart Foundation Charity is a volunteer-led Irish charity founded in Ennis, Co. Clare in 2011. We work across Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Kerry, Cork and Waterford on cardiovascular health awareness, community CPR training, heart disease prevention, patient support and fundraising for local cardiac care equipment.
Our history
From Abbey Street to six counties
2011
A kitchen table in Clonroad
After the death of local hurling coach Séamus Barrett, who collapsed at training with no defibrillator within nine kilometres, twelve neighbours met in a house on Abbey Street. They raised €3,100 in six weeks and bought two AEDs.
2013
Registered as a charity
We formalised as a company limited by guarantee with a constitution, an independent board and Registered Charity Number 20081706.
2016
Beyond Clare
Requests from Limerick and North Tipperary outgrew our volunteer instructors. We trained our first cohort of twenty community trainers so that every county could teach its own.
2019
Patient support begins
Cardiac nurses told us the hardest weeks come after discharge. Our first support group met in a room above a shop in Ennis with seven people and a kettle.
2022
All six counties
With volunteer hubs in Ennis, Limerick, Tralee, Clonmel, Cork and Dungarvan, we reached full Munster coverage and passed 10,000 people trained.
2026
Equipment for cardiac care
Our current three-year appeal funds rehabilitation and monitoring equipment for public cardiac services in the Mid-West and South-West.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2011, Ennis, Co. Clare
- Registered Charity No.
- 20081706
- Legal form
- Company limited by guarantee
- Counties served
- All six Munster counties
- Volunteers
- 268
- Paid staff
- 4
Mission
To reduce death and disability from cardiovascular disease in Munster by putting knowledge, equipment and support directly into the hands of communities.
Vision
A Munster where every town, village and townland has someone trained to act and a defibrillator within four minutes' reach.
Values
Empathy
The person before the protocol.
Integrity
Open books, honest claims.
Community Resilience
Skills that stay when we leave.
Excellence
Clinically current, always.
Governance & leadership
Governed openly, audited independently
We are a company limited by guarantee, governed by a voluntary board of six directors who receive no remuneration of any kind. The board meets at least six times a year and its subcommittees cover finance and audit, clinical standards, and safeguarding.
Charities Governance Code
We comply in full with the Charities Regulator's Charities Governance Code and file an annual compliance record statement approved by the board.
Statutory reporting
Annual reports and financial statements are filed with the Charities Regulator and the Companies Registration Office and published on this website.
Safeguarding
Every volunteer working with children or vulnerable adults is Garda vetted and trained under Children First. A named board member holds this brief.
Fundraising standards
We are signatories to the Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising and operate a published donor charter and complaints procedure.
Our board of directors
Pádraig Hanrahan
Company Secretary & Treasurer
Chartered accountant based in Ennis. Oversees financial controls, the annual audit and our compliance with the Charities SORP.
Sinéad Walsh
Board Member — Safeguarding Lead
Former public health nurse and Garda-vetted safeguarding trainer. Holds responsibility for child and vulnerable adult protection.
Tomás de Búrca
Board Member — Volunteer Network
Volunteer instructor since 2014 and coordinator of our six county hubs. Represents volunteer voice at board level.
Aoife Cremin
Board Member — Patient Advocacy
Survived a cardiac arrest at 34. Brings lived experience to programme design and leads our patient advisory panel.
Fr. Michael Dineen
Board Member — Community Liaison
Parish priest in West Cork, opens doors in communities that are often hardest to reach and slowest to be served.
268 volunteers. No one paid to care.
Four members of staff keep the administration, training standards and safeguarding running. Everything else is done by neighbours, on evenings and weekends, for free.