“SWAH’s a great place to work”


A DOCTOR who moved to Fermanagh a year ago has spoken of how happy he and his family are here, and is encouraging others to come to work at the SWAH. As recruitment issues persist at the Enniskillen hospital, with the Western Trust looking overseas for medical expertise, the Herald has spoken to one SWAH cardiologist who […]

Sadness at death of fundraising hero Jim


FERMANAGH has lost one of its community heroes with the sad passing of Jim Gamble. A familiar face in Enniskillen and around the county, the popular local window cleaner dedicated all of his free time over forty years to fundraising to help local people through the toughest periods in their lives. Along with his friend […]

Florencecourt tree selected for Queen’s Grand Canopy


FLORENCE Court’s famous ‘Mother Yew’ tree, which is the origin of every Irish yew tree in the world, has been selected as one of 70 ancient trees from across the UK dedicated to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Agriculture and Environment Minister Edwin Poots recently visited the famous Fermanagh tree, which was selected as part […]

‘Lives will be lost’ if SWAH service is cut


“RURAL lives matter.” That was the message from a meeting held at Fermanagh House last Thursday in response to the real and growing threat to emergency surgery services at the South West Acute Hospital. Organised at short notice after the Trust confirmed last week that poor staffing levels at the Enniskillen hospital meant the service […]

Cutting emergency surgery could harm entire community


CUTTING emergency surgery at the SWAH could not only have “a domino effect” on many other services at the hospital, but could also harm the entire Fermanagh community for years to come. That was yet another message from a meeting held at Fermanagh House last week, organised at the last minute in response to a […]

Consultants warn Trust ‘harm will come to patients’


THE WESTERN Trust has been warned by a concerned group of local consultants that women and babies could die here if the SWAH emergency surgery service is cut. In a jointly-signed letter seen and quoted on the front page of the Sunday Independent at the weekend, the group of obstetric and gynaecological consultants warned, “Harm will […]

Mass protest planned against SWAH cuts


WITH the axe hanging precariously over emergency surgery at SWAH – and potentially many more acute services and the entire status of the hospital as a consequence – a major public protest is being planned in Enniskillen in the coming weeks and the entire community is being urged to attend. Last week the Western Trust […]

Questions remain despite convictions


WHILE two soldiers were eventually convicted and jailed for the murders of Michael Naan and Andrew Murray, for the families left behind many questions remain as to how and why their loved ones met such a horrific death. For James Naan, 50 years on, he still struggles to come to terms with what happened to […]

‘God bless America and God save Ireland’


IN OCTOBER 1972 a young priest from Kinawley arrived in the US for what he thought would be three years, optimistic that when he returned The Troubles would be over. Fifty years on, Fr Sean McManus remains in the States, where he has established himself as a powerful political influence, mixing with some of the […]