Pat on the back for postmen

Not one but two Mullingar post men are being hailed as heroes by An Post after their quick thinking and kindness averted disaster when they were out on their daily delivery routes.An Post has in its monthly magazine, this month paid tribute to the two men - Mal McDonnell and Daithí Tyrrell, who both came to the rescue of people they found in difficulty while they were doing their rounds.Postman Mal McDonnell was on his morning delivery route around Mullingar when he made a discovered a woman collapsed and unconscious ouside her home.continued from frontMal rushed to her side and realising the seriousness of the situation called for an ambulance and for the ladies husband.“The area where the lady lives is quite remote with just a few houses along the road. She was on her own and it was lucky that I was delivering to the house at the time.,” said Mal.It was a cold and damp day and Mal was extremely concerned for the woman's well being when he could not wake her.“I am not comfortable with the term hero. I did what anyone would have done. No one would ignore a person when they needed help. I just did what anyone else would have done if they had found her,” says modest Mal.Mal stayed with the lady and gave her support until the ambulance arrived and she was rushed to hospital suffering from head injuries and a fractured cheekbone. The lady is expected to make a full recovery but neighbours, who praised Mal's swift action believe the outcome would have been more serious if Mal had not discovered her.“I was just in the right place at the right time,” says Mal.Being in the right place at the right time is something of a theme for Mullingar postmen.An elderly lady in her eighties is still counting her blessings that Daithí Tyrrell had post to deliver to her home.“I have been praying so much that you had a letter for me” the old lady told Daithí when he discovered her trapped under a large waste bin when he was out on his morning delivery:“I usually only deliver one letter a week to her. It was such a coincidence that it was on that day I had her one letter. I was delivering in the quiet Gaulmoylestown area when I heard someone calling for help. I couldn't believe it when I turned into the house-one of my elderly customers was trapped under a large waste bin. A heavy frost had caused her to slip on the path and when she grabbed the bin to balance herself, it had toppled over dragging her to the ground,” describes Daithí.Work was being done at the lady's home and the bin was filled with heavy bathroom tiles making it too heavy to move. Grabbing his jacket, he used it to try and warm her and prevent hypothermia taking hold. Then he made two unsuccessful attempts to shift the bin. Just as her breathing become shallow and difficult, Daithí succeeded in lifting the topped bin. The lady was brought to hospital by ambulance, where she was treated for injuries to her legs, hips and chest.Daithí has been a postman for 30 years and his father before him was a postman for 45 years: “Thankfully she is now on the mend now but she firmly believes I was her guardian angel that morning.”