2008 hasn’t been the happiest year on record.
The axing of breast cancer diagnostic and surgical services from Mayo General Hospital was definitely one of the biggest stories of the year and one which was highly emotive.
Breast cancer survivors from all over the county quickly united in a courageous effort to have the services retained in Mayo, but they were always fighting a losing battle.
It wasn’t to be and the centre of excellence has opened in Galway with a two-bed unit dedicated to Mayo patients. Only time will tell how successful this arrangement will be but the experts are adamant that centres of excellence, where the best brains in the business are working together in multi-disciplinary teams, is the way to go.
2008 was another year rife with protests and controversy over the Corrib gas project.
In the autumn, and amid often dangerous protests, we saw the arrival of the Solitaire ship to commence laying the off-shore pipeline but bad weather saw the vessel get damaged and be forced to retreat to a UK port for repairs. On a personal note and following a press trip to northern Amsterdam to view the workings of NAM, a company half owned by Shell who lay the majority of Holland’s pipelines, I was reassured about the safety of the proposed Corrib project. Not everyone agrees with me but having talked to engineers and after surveying the stringent safety measures which are being taken in north Mayo, many of which are far above what is standard practice, it is hard not to be confident that the Corrib project is indeed safe.
During that trip to Holland the news came through that the Government were setting up a Community Forum in north Mayo to discuss issues pertaining to the project. While initially this was broadly welcomed, the morning of the first meeting dawned with Pobal Chill Chomain, Pobal le Cheile, Shell to Sea and other community activists in north Mayo deciding they weren’t happy with the terms of reference of the forum and abstaining from the inaugural meeting. This was disappointing but hopefully they will receive the clarification they need to enable them to attend because without discussion and consultation this project will continue to be hampered by bitter protests.
The Government’s commitment in recent weeks to have a re-run of the Lisbon Treaty, which was rejected by the Irish electorate already this year, has sparked criticism from Libertas and Sinn Féin who fought clever campaigns to have the treaty rejected in the first place. If the Government have any respect for the people of Ireland, and really believe those who voted No at the first time of asking will change their minds, they need to bring some respect for the intelligence of the Irish voter into their new campaign.
All that misery aside, there were a couple of good news stories in Mayo this year. The re-opening of the fully refurbished Royal Theatre has truly set Castlebar up as the entertainment capital of the west.
Also the official opening of the Mayo Peace Park by President Mary McAleese was a wonderful day in Mayo’s history and one which Michael Feeney and co should be very proud of.
Let’s hope this time next year we’ll have less of the bad news and more positive stories to reflect on.
Season’s greetings.
