Former Ireland international and Dundalk FC star helps save baby girl’s life

Heroic Grace Murray and her An Garda Siochna colleague Edel Dugdale sprung into action when a frantic mother arrived at Trim station with an unresponsive three-month-old girl wrapped in a blanket.

“We saw her coming in the main door on the monitor in the corner of the office and even then, myself and Edel could see she was frantic and we knew something was seriously wrong.

“We didn’t bother going to the hatch and just ran straight out the front door to her.

“It all happened very fast, but I think she said something like, ‘my baby isn’t breathing’.

“We didn’t know if she was maybe choking on something, so we first tried tapping her on the back a few times and turned her over and started CPR.

“Thankfully after a few seconds of chest compressions she came around. The station was still open and people were coming in and out, so I rang 999 straight from my mobile and we took them into the interview room.

“The emergency services kept me on the line, giving us advice on checking vitals and that.”

“We set the girl’s big brother up colouring at the table and waited. Three advanced paramedics arrived and thank God it all worked out.”

Grace took the woman’s mobile phone number as she was leaving in the ambulance and rang to check up on the baby girl later that evening.

“We were so relieved, and we kept in touch to see how she was doing. The woman was so grateful, and she sent chocolates and stuff to the station a few days later.”

Grace agreed it was definitely the craziest incident of her three years on the force.

“There are guards here over 30 years and no-one has experienced anything like that,” she said.

An ultra-talented soccer player, Grace was capped 68 times for Ireland from under-17 through to senior, lining out for the latter for over five years.

She initially worked in marketing for world-leading sportswear firm adidas, but decided to follow in her father Colm’s footsteps and join the Gardai. Colm, a former PRO for Dundalk FC, is now retired, but Grace’s brother is a current serving member also.

Grace hasn’t given football up completely as she recently played for the Garda team at the European Police Force Championships in Norway.

Depsite wearing the green jersey and winning national club titles with Peamount United, the buzz of saving a life was every bit as good as anything Grace experienced on the football pitch.

“People said afterwards that we didn’t just save one life because that family would have been just devastated, and I suppose that’s true.

“At the time you just have to act and deal with the situation, but afterwards when you have a chance to think about it, it’s nice to have been able to do something like that,” she added.