The hospital is consistently the most overcrowded in the country, however management say they do not have enough bed capacity to deal with their catchment of around 400,000.

Galway City Council and one of its elected councillors have unreservedly apologised to two Galway brothers who claimed they were defamed in comments made in the wake of the cancellation of the 2011 Galway City Marathon.

FIANNA FÁIL members should not ignore the houses of “blueshirts” or “provos” when canvassing for votes, Junior Minister Brendan Smith told delegates.

The Sinn Fein candidate for Dublin South West, councillor Sean Crowe, has called for a Saturday election. Cllr Crowe joins a number of politicians and student groups demanding the change.