Crowd of 10,000 marches to save hospital

Gardai estimate a crowd of 10,000 attended the rally in support of the Save Navan Hospital Campaign on Saturday. The rally was protesting at the continued downgrading and stripping of services at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan. The march took a route from the Trim Road, down by the Fair Green and Church Hill, up Ludlow Street and Trimgate Street to Brews Hill. There was a 25 minute stream between the beginning and the end of the march. Speakers on the stage outside Pairc Tailteann, close to the hospital, included Cllr Peader Toibin, chairperson of the campaign, Dr Ruairi Hanley, a local GP, Fine Gael spokesperson on health, Dr James O'Reilly, Labour's spokesperson, Jan O'Sullivan, Thomas Byrne, FF TD for Meath East, and Sinn Fein's Caoimhin O Caolaoin. Dr Hanley spoke of "incompetent morons on six figure salaries" in the HSE, and a former patient, Margaret Regan, who had breast cancer, said she owed her life to Navan Hospital. * Full coverage in this week's Meath Chronicle.