A round-up of today's regional news in brief
Sligo Rose gets apology after being forced out
Garda Charlene Anderson yesterday demanded and received an apology from Rose of Tralee organisers for a mix-up that forced her out of the contest after winning the Sligo area title.
The 28-year-old, who donated her €1,000 prize to a cancer charity, was replaced by another woman five days later for being too old. Her birthday fell two days before the area contest in her native town.
Although she told the judges she had celebrated the event and had a small-print rule on age checked, she said she was assured there was no problem.
Garda Anderson, the only female motorcycle member with Donegal Traffic Corps, was persuaded to enter the contest to raise funds for Sligo Hospital Oncology Unit Trust (Shout). She said her only interest in competing was to raise funds for the trust, a charity close to her heart after a relative was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Rose national organiser Steve Cromley said: “I have no problem apologising to Charlene. We certainly should have spotted the oversight by the judges.” Garda Anderson has been replaced by “reserve” Rose Sinead McGill (25), who is leaving the €1,000 with Shout.
Victim’s father urges solidarity
The father of an innocent young businessman murdered in Limerick last month is encouraging people to "stand up and be counted" at an upcoming public rally against gangland violence, writes Kathryn Hayes.
Steve Collins, whose son Roy (35) was shot dead on April 9th last, has organised this weekend’s rally in a bid to keep victim support in the spotlight.
“It’s important that people take this seriously. No event like this has happened in a long, long time and we need people on the streets to show the Government that we’re serious about wanting change,” said Mr Collins.
“It’s also a chance for the people of Limerick to stand up and be counted and I encourage everyone to support this on Sunday.”
The march will take place on Sunday May 10th, departing from Pery Square in Limerick city at 3pm and finishing up at City Hall on Merchant’s Quay where a rally will be held.
The Collins family says that the event is being held in solidarity with other victims of violence including the family of rugby player Shane Geoghegan who was shot dead last November.
“Nobody knows when it is going to knock on your door. It just comes when you don’t expect it and they come into your life and you don’t expect it to happen, and you just have to look at your own families now and say there but for the grace of God it could be me,” said Mr Collins.
Mayor John Gilligan, who will lead the rally, said the event is a chance for the “99 per cent of ordinary decent people in Limerick” to take back their city.
Hunger strike over ward closure
A man who is protesting at the closure of a geriatric ward in a Waterford city hospital yesterday has spent a second day on hunger strike there, writes Ciarán Murphy.
Seán Brett (51), whose elderly mother, Bríd, is a patient at St Patrick’s Hospital in the city, circulated a letter on Monday among staff before going on hunger strike.
Mr Brett, a groundskeeper at Waterford Golf Club, is reported to have chained himself to a bed and placed himself on hunger strike on Monday morning in protest against HSE plans to close a 19-bed ward there.
Plans by the Health Service Executive to close St Bridget’s ward – the county’s only geriatric hospital – have attracted much criticism locally in recent months.
The HSE maintains that the closure is vital for “health and safety reasons”; this has been criticised by staff, including visiting locum GPs, at the hospital.
