Bridget McAnallen - the mother of the late Cormac McAnallen - has called for routine screening of young people for heart defects following the sudden death of a minor footballer in Down at the weekend.

Patrick Dinsmore, who would be celebrating his 17th birthday today, collapsed and died during a minor game in Rostrevor on Sunday. He was treated by a doctor and two nurses who were spectators at the game and although defibrillator was used, the teenager could not be revived.

Mrs McAnallen, whose 24-year-old son Cormac died from an undetected heart condition in 2004 after starring in Tyrone's maiden All-Ireland football success only a few months earlier, said her family shared the "shock and grief and emptiness" that the Dinsmore family was now experiencing.

The McAnallen family, who set up the Cormac Trust to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest, are now pushing for the Government to help tackle the problem.

"There are not that many conditions that cause death in healthy young people," she told the Irish News.

"This can be screened for, as well as weaknesses in blood vessels causing embolisms. If asthma and epilepsy can be tested for and people are able to know they have them, so should cardiac problems.

"An awful lot of young people don't have symptoms. The only way they can know is through screening." Tweet

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