New Year new commitment to Saving The Dalriada Hospital

Over 1000 people paraded through Ballycastle from the hospital carpark to the seafront and finishing in the Diamond.

Led by two representatives from the local horse riding community with their horses decorated in Save TheDal regalia, the march was joined by people in fancy dress and large groups of young people from various local sporting organisations including the GAA, soccer, golf and hockey as well as martial arts clubs and the local school of Irish dancing.

Dr Réamaí Mathers from the Save The Dal campaign addressed the rally.

He said: “The Dalriada Hospital has been saved for now, but there is no doubt that this community needs to redouble its efforts in a new creative spirit in order to ensure that our local hospital becomes even more important in local health care.

“A community can be judged by how it treats its weak and infirm and on this front the support for the Save TheDal campaign can hold their heads high. This hospital is essential to our community, indeed it is woven into the fibre of this place. If the Northern Health and Social Care Trust wish to revisit the Dalriada question in 2015 then we invite them to work in co-operation with us on how best this hospital can be further improved so it can serve local people in a cost effective way for years to come.”