In memory of Ciarán: Documentary centres on annual Christmas busk

THE parents of Ciarán Carr, who died suddenly in 2012, share the harrowing experience of their son’s sudden death in a new documentary to be streamed tomorrow, Friday, December 1.

The documentary centres on a Christmas busk held in Ciarán’s hometown, Clondalkin, every year in memory of the young man, who died at the age of 20 while training at Round Tower GAA Club.

His parents, Philip and Gemma Carr, tell viewers about the circumstances leading up to their son’s untimely death from sudden adult death syndrome, and the impact he had on those around them.

Gemma recalled that she was watching the end credits of ‘Coronation Street’, when the phone rang and she was told he had collapsed. Initially, she wasn’t too concerned.

“The phone rang, and one of the lads on the phone said, ‘Ciarán’s after collapsing, could you come down?’, and I said yes,” Gemma explains in the documentary.

“Of course, my immediate reaction to Philip was, here we go again, Tallaght Hospital, because between breaks in ankles and arms and fingers . . .”

The couple went to Moyle Park College, where Round Towers were training, and when they saw the scene that greeted them, they immediately knew something was seriously wrong.

“The lads were out, standing, waiting for the ambulance to guide them in, and we knew then we were in trouble,” said Gemma.

“At that stage, the paramedics hadn’t arrived, but they were the first to arrive and then the ambulance arrived, and the fire brigade arrived.

“When Philip went in, they were defibbing Ciarán. Unfortunately, he never regained consciousness. He was gone.

“So we went to Tallaght Hospital, and they worked on him for about half-an-hour or 40 minutes.

“I remember looking at the clock and I said, ‘You’re hurting him! You’re hurting him! Stop!’, and unfortunately, he was gone. There was no coming back.”

Ciarán’s legacy, however, lives on, both through the foundation his parents set up in his name which fundraises to provide defibrillators around the community, and the Ciarán Carr Christmas Busk.

The engaging documentary by Throwing Shapes Productions, which was filmed at last year’s busk, also features footage of the group of local musicians who perform in Clondalkin village every Christmas to fundraise for the foundation and celebrate Ciarán’s memory.

It captures the festive cheer that the musicians bring to Clondalkin village, and also the importance that they place on remembering Ciarán.

The organiser of the busk, Colm Gavin, who is an established musician and was a friend of Ciarán’s, said there had been a desire to catalogue the origins of the busk, which began in 2013, on video.

“It’s long been an ambition of ours to document the absolute wild elation of the busk,” Colm told The Echo.

“But also, and perhaps more importantly, we really wanted to have on record, Gemma and Philip telling the story of the origins of the foundation.

“It’s an emotional watch, but we feel we’ve captured something special.”

‘The Ciarán Carr Foundation Annual Busk’ documentary will premiere on the Throwing Shapes Productions YouTube channel on December 1.

The tenth annual Ciarán Carr Busk will take place outside the Credit Union in Clondalkin village on Saturday, December 23, at 7.30pm.