A FORMER Limerick radio station CEO, who received the highest honour from the Red Cross for attending the Grenfell Tower fire on the day of the 2017 tragedy, has been appointed CEO of CRITICAL, Ireland’s leading emergency medical charity.
David Tighe has more than 30 years experience in media and communications in Ireland and the United Kingdom. He spent seven years at Limerick’s Live 95 as programme director and CEO.
Since then he has held senior positions at Global Media and Entertainment, Bauer Media Group, and was named Belfast Chamber Business Leader of the Year 2021.
Mr Tighe was a volunteer with the British Red Cross’ Fire and Emergency Support Service for four years and received the Dunant Award for attending the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017.
He also volunteered as an emergency responder with the Irish Coast Guard.
Speaking on the news, Mr Tighe said that “it is an honour to be appointed CEO of CRITICAL and I am committed to expanding our network of emergency responders to even more communities across Ireland”.
“Collaboration is at the heart of pre-hospital emergency medicine. It is most effective when the emergency services, critical care doctors, and first responders work closely together.
“The care a person receives in the minutes after they fall ill or get seriously injured can ultimately be the difference between life and death. It’s incredible to see the impact that volunteer responders can have in an emergency.
“I saw it in Grenfell and we witnessed it in Creeslough when our volunteer doctors raced to the scene. Every day our volunteers are responding to cardiac arrests, collisions, and other life threatening emergencies. Their equipment is entirely funded by donations and fundraisers carried out by members of the public and we are very grateful.”
CRITICAL was first established in 2009 as Irish Community Rapid Response. Today, it has a growing network of volunteer responders operating in 20 counties in cities, towns, and villages.
The charity has a Community First Responder (CFR) group in Limerick with plans to add additional groups in Tipperary, Cork, and across the country this year.
