Former US vice president makes return Mayo visit

THE former vice-president of the United States, Joe Biden, will perform the official sod-turning ceremony of the new Mayo Roscommon Hospice unit at a site at Knockaphunta, off Westport Road, Castlebar, next Tuesday.

The ceremony takes place at 3 p.m.

The facility, when completed, will be a dedicated 14-bed specialist in-patient palliative care facility/hospice unit.

Planning permission was granted by Mayo County Council in 2015 for the new building and landscaped gardens at Knockaphunta and represents a capital investment by the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation.

The hospice unit will include daycare and in-patient facilities, offering family support and therapies. It will also act as the central hub for community-based palliative care services, out-patient therapies and support services.