This article is from page 3 of the 2006-03-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
CLARE’S mayor, Councillor Pat Keane (FF) has been admitted to hospital suffering from exhaustion.
Cllr Keane underwent tests over three days at Ennis General Hospital after suffering a near-collapse at his Kilkee home recently and was allowed out of hospital last week.
Cllr Keane said: “My doctor told me that if I didn’t slow down, I would have a stroke, so I am trying to take it easy at the moment and not be going all the time”.
Elected mayor last July, the Kilkeebased councillor said: “It is a tough job and you just have to keep going and I will give it my best for the final four months that I am mayor. It is only for 12 months and I will try to give it everything”.
Cllr Keane said that his near-collapse was from sheer exhaustion and his doctor recommended that he be admitted to Ennis General to undergo tests.
First elected to the council in 1991 and elected twice since, in 1999 and 2004, Cllr Keane said: “I never drank or smoked. I eat well and there is no history of strokes in the family. The doctor told me that I must slow down.”
Married to Margaret, Pat is the father of two grown-up children Marina (26) and Diarmuid (18).
“There is no point complaining. This is what we stood to be elected for. The meetings go on and in the days after I was allowed out, there were more meetings to attend,” he said.
Cllr Keane is the second prominent Clare politician to be admitted to hospital as a result of the stresses of the job. Last December, Fine Gael’s Pat Breen was admitted to intensive care at Ennis General after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. Deputy Breen took a break from work over the month of January after medical advice.
Former Labour TD and consultant psychiatrist, Dr Moosajee Bhamjee said this week, “what happened to Cllr Pat Keane confirms that politics can be dangerous for your health.”
He added: “It is one of the hazards of the job where politicians overwork themselves in order to keep everyone happy. This is a warning sign for Pat and he must heed the advice that he has been given”.