16 July 1997
Nurse Patricia gets Customer Care award
Nurse-in-a-million Patricia Martyn has been selected as the overall winner of the 1996/'97 PJ Hennelly Customer Care and Service Memorial Award.
In all there were five nominations for the accolade, all monthly winners in the project organised by the Connaught Telegraph and the Travellers Friend Hotel & Theatre in conjunction with Castlebar Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Hennelly was president of the chamber up to the occasion of his untimely death last August and it was felt that this would be a fitting tribute to his memory.
Nurse Patricia who works with the Diabetic Team at the Mayo General Hospital was nominated by 14-years old Paul Cawley from Glenisland, Castlebar and she was the first monthly recipient last November.
Paul, who is a patient of Patricia said: "Although only employed part-time as a diabetic nurse, her post being sponsored by Novo-Nordisc, Patricia makes herself available to us, if we need her, 24-hours a day, seven days a week, even from her own home, and always with a smile."
Patricia was one of five monthly nominations for the overall award. The others were hotel receptionist Carmel Rougheen (December: nominated by Mary Healy); Castlebar Town Foreman, Pat Healy (January: nominated by Frances Clarke); Librarian Gerry King (February: nominated by Michael Mullen) and Castlebar bus driver Sean Gallagher of Quigley's Coaches (March: nominated by Carmel Nevin).
The widow of the late Mr. Hennelly, Mrs. Peggy Hennelly made the presentation to Nurse Patricia at a special luncheon at the Travellers Friend Hotel &Theatre which was attended by the other nominees and their proposers.
Also in attendance were the president of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Frank Greene; executive director of the Chamber, Maria Quinn; Connaught Telegraph Editor, Mr. Tom Gillespie, Travellers Friend Hotel proprietor, Mr. Pat Jennings and Mr. Hennelly's son John and daughter Regina.
Nurse Patricia she was delighted with the award as it highlighted her work. The diabetes nurse, she said, operates as a member of multidisciplinary team at Mayo General.
She added: "Education and motivation is the cornerstone to successful diabetes care and management.
"We help newly diagnoses patients and newly started insulin treated diabetics to secure optimal adjustment to life with diabetes."
The Chairman of Castlebar Urban Council, in his last official function in office, Mr. Eoin Garavan paid tribute to the Chamber of Commerce, the Travellers Friend Hotel and the Connaught Telegraph for having come up with the unique way in which to honour the memory of PJ Hennelly.
Castlebar, he said, had benefited from the wisdom and hard work of Mr. Hennelly who would have been proud of the current developments which were about to take place. He said the Lough Lannagh Holiday Village would be completed by next year and the celebrations for the anniversary of 1798 in 1998 were well in hand.
Allied to this was the application by the town for the Telecom Eireann Information Age which would be announced in the coming weeks.
Chamber president, Mr. Greene said his organisation were delighted to be associated with the awards scheme which commemorated the memory of Mr. Hennelly who had been a very powerful influence in promoting and establishing the chamber as the recognised body it is today.
He said: "All of the nominations deserved to be winners in their own right. I congratulate all of them for their outstanding work in their respective fields."
