Pat Ring grimaces when he recalls the dark days. Tomorrow, Ring will send his Foxrock-Cabinteely side into battle against Cork outfit Mourneabbey, in what is the Dublin club’s third successive All-Ireland semi-final appearance.

Nurses at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin are refusing to leave patients' bed sides this morning.

The possibility of acquiring Mount Carmel as a step-down facility for elderly people in need of rehabilitation before returning home is being considered by the HSE.

THE head of the National Maternity Hospital has apologised for upsetting foreign nurses allegedly threatened with repatriation if they did not agree to sign contracts which would result in loss of earnings of €26,000.

THE Irish Nurses Organisation is investigating claims that 17 overseas nurses were threatened with repatriation unless they signed contracts which would have resulted in loss of earnings of up to €26,000 each.

AN accident and emergency nurse, who had been in Ireland for just a couple of months, was lifted by the hair, slammed against a wall and repeatedly punched in the head and neck in a vicious attack at work.

The Irish Nurses Organisation has accused St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin of failing to take adequate measures to protect its staff.

A NURSING representative at Ireland’s dirtiest hospital yesterday blamed overcrowding and lack of infection control resources for its failure to meet minimum hygiene standards.

THE outbreak of the Winter Vomiting Bug at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin was described as a “worsening crisis” yesterday after another 22 members of staff fell ill with the virus.

ONE of the country’s largest hospitals was forced to cancel all elective surgery today because of serious overcrowding problems in its accident and emergency department.

Nurses in the radiology department at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin are due to take industrial action this afternoon as part of a dispute over pay and allowances.

AS thousands of nurses prepare for industrial action, health service employers have accused militant nursing unions of placing an unbearable strain on the health service.

Industrial strife in the health service is escalating with nurses at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin voting for possible strike action.

Nurses at St Columbcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown, Co Dublin, have begun strike action over a dispute that has led to four staff being removed from night duty.