In December 2012, Stephen O’Connor travelled home to Ireland with his girlfriend Michelle to enjoy the Christmas period. Tragically, Stephen collapsed in a shopping centre while at home and died suddenly. There was no clear cause for Stephen’s death so it was deemed to be due to Adult Sudden Death Syndrome. Had a defibrillator been on hand at the shopping centre that day, Stephen’s death may have been prevented.

In honour of Stephen, who was an active member of the GAA scene in Australia, his girlfriend Michelle set up the Stephen O’Connor Fundraiser which aimed to raise enough funds through an auction and raffle to provide defibrillators and training to each of the 9 GAA clubs in Sydney in the hopes of minimising the risk of such a tragedy happening again.

The event was held at the Tea Gardens Hotel in Bondi Junction on June 21st. Attendance at the event was massive, with multiple GAA club members and Irish businesses present, including Taxback.com. The night was hugely successful and a huge credit to Michelle and her co-organisers. We were happy to contribute both raffle prizes and a direct donation of $500 to the worthy cause. In association with this, Taxback.com is the primary sponsor of the Bondi Gaels GAA team in Sydney who also made a cash donation directly into the fund.

We would like to extend a huge congratulations to Michelle and her team whose hard work and dedication to this event in honour of Stephen have secured indispensible defibrillators which will safeguard the thousands of GAA players and participants who will pass through the clubs in Sydney over the next few years. We are honoured to sponsor and support the Irish sporting teams in Australia and wish them all the best in the future.