The second inquest into the death of a nine-year-old girl three weeks after an appendix operation at Cavan General Hospital will open next Friday.
The Cavan coroner, Dr Mary Flanagan, directed yesterday that the inquest into the death of Cootehill girl Frances Sheridan will go ahead.
She dismissed an application for her to stand aside for another coroner to hear the second inquest in her place.
The application was made when the second inquest was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 31st, by legal representatives for the Health Service Executive.
They made an application that Dr Flanagan should voluntarily stand aside as she had already heard the first inquest into the child's death and had directed the jury in a particular way on that occasion. Yesterday, Dr Flanagan told them that she would not accede to their application to stand down. She asked lawyers for the HSE and the State Claims Agency if they had any comments. When they had not, Dr Flanagan asked if they would give their witnesses notice to attend on June 16th and they said they would.
Frances Sheridan suffered fatal complications three weeks after an appendix operation in January 2004. The first inquest into her death concluded in December and a jury returned a verdict of death by natural causes. Dr Flanagan had earlier suggested to the jury that such a verdict would not be appropriate.
The Sheridan family was unhappy with the verdict and through their solicitor appealed to the Attorney General to direct a new inquest to be held.
The Attorney General recently directed Dr Flanagan to hold a new inquest, which rarely happens, and the new inquest was delayed because of the the application being made.
Ken Connolly, barrister for the Sheridan family, the child's parents' Brian and Rosemary Sheridan, said they had no difficulty with Dr Flanagan hearing the inquest again.