Galway Advertiser 2006/2006_03_23/GA_2303_E1_010.pdf 

Extracted text

10 N E W S

www.galwayadvertiser.ie

March 23 2006

Galway takeover of Three UCHG Villa will go ahead, wards closed due to gastric says brother bug
BY MARY O'CONNOR The brother of the two multi-millionaire Glenamaddy men who have been in on-off negotiations for the past six months to buy Midlands soccer club Aston Villa says he believes the 96 million deal may go ahead this time. Businessman Billy Comer, the older brother of Luke and Brian, who lives in Shannaugh outside Glenamaddy, was commenting in the wake of media reports that the takeover bid is still on track and that the deal may be signed and sealed by May. He said negotiations appear to be taking place again between his brothers - who started out working here as plasterers before moving to England in the mid 1980s and who are leading a consortium - and the premiership club which is 132 years old this month. "I was surprised to hear negotiations were back on. It would be nice if it [the deal] went ahead, I feel it might this time. I'm still hopeful. They might get it for a few million less than before. According to them before, it was 15 million overpriced." The Comer brothers, who have developed reputations as shrewd investors and whose property company is worth 1.5bn, are not likely to rush into anything. Reports say they were attracted to the Birmingham club, not for sentimental reasons they are not fans of the side - but because of the prospect of developing land owned by it within the grounds of Villa Park. While they attend premiership games regularly their real love is gaelic football. Billy, who won the Lotto jackpot in the mid 1990s and who used to work at the Customs and Excise Office in Galway, says the talks have been going on since October. "Many people thought it was all off. People are often asking me about it but I wouldn't say anything." His brothers are remaining tight lipped, too. When approached recently at Cheltenham, in the company of Billy's son Shane (24) who works with them, they declined to comment on the takeover. "I'm always with them at Cheltenham. This is the first time I missed it for 15 years - I was too busy with the new businesses," says Billy, who is the proprietor of the newly opened "Sabrina's Tandouri (named after his daughter), Comer's Glenview Bar and James Kilkenny's Bookmakers in Glenamaddy. He says his brothers, who are based in Hertfordshire, would view the deal as a big step and would not rush into it. "You don't do these things lightly. There is so much involved." If the takeover goes ahead, it would be great for the region and Ireland as a whole, he says. "I'd be very happy if it went ahead. It would be great for the west and Ireland that two people from a tiny village could buy a football club." BY MARY O'CONNOR All non-emergency planned admissions to University College Hospital Galway have been deferred due to a number of cases of gastrointestinal illness there. There were 27 suspected cases at the time of going to press. Three wards have been closed to further admissions with immediate effect as a precautionary measure. Visiting restrictions are still in place with management requesting people to only visit the hospital from 2-4pm and 78pm daily. A spokesperson for UCHG said it regrets and apologises to patients for any distress caused. She said the gastrointestinal illness may be due to a viral infection similar to that which recently caused problems in other hospitals throughout the country (the winter vomiting bug). "The infection control team will be reviewing the situation on a daily basis We are requesting the co-operation of the general public in preventing the spread of this infection. "Visitors are encouraged not to visit the affected wards unless it is essential and where it is essential, visitor numbers should be kept to a minimum. If visitors come to the hospital they should visit only one patient and should not visit other parts of the hospital." Visitors who may be unwell or have vomiting or diarrhoea should not visit, she advises. "Very young children or those with some other serious illness should avoid visiting the hospital too as they may be particularly susceptible to infection with the virus. "Visitors should wash their hands thoroughly before leaving the inpatient area or after a visit to the toilet. Members of the public with symptoms of viral gastroenteritis should not present in the A&E department but should contact their GP." The winter vomiting bug is a mild, unpleasant illness, lasts two to three days and is easily spread. The best treatment is to drink plenty of fluids, take paracetamol for the cramps and get lots of bed rest. Doctors say there is no need to take antibiotics because these will not be effective. The bug is community based and is brought into hospitals from outside.

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