Old Church Veterinary Hospital has been delivering quality veterinary care to farm animals and pets in the Donegal region for six decades. Established in Ballyshannon in 1954, the practice also has branch Clinics in Donegal Town and Grange, Co. Sligo as well as a newly-opened veterinary supplies outlet in Grange.

Nowadays, Gerard Gilligan and Nicholas Garvey are the two partners in the thriving practice which employs six vets, four veterinary nurses, a total of 16 full-time staff. The original partners were Tommy Walls and Frank O’Kelly who traded under Walls & O’Kelly. The practice was later renamed Walls, O’Kelly & Gilligan before becoming Old Church Veterinary Hospital in 2002.

The practice takes its name from the old Methodist church building from which it operates at The Mall, Ballyshannon. This building has been converted into a modern, fully-equipped veterinary hospital which became the first accredited small animal hospital in the North-West in 2002.

The past decade has seen the addition of branch clinics in Donegal town and Grange, Co. Sligo. Located in the old Teagasc offices on the Killybegs Road, Donegal Veterinary Clinic was opened in 2004. This was followed in 2011 by the opening of Grange Veterinary Clinic, which is situated on the main Sligo-Bundoran Road. Last May, the practice added another string to its bow with the opening of a veterinary supplies outlet beside the clinic in Grange.

“Since we opened our clinics in Donegal and Grange, we have been covering a much wider area extending from north Co. Sligo to Ardara in Co. Donegal. We are a busy mixed practice with 60 years’ experience behind us. Our business is divided evenly between large and small animals, which is a big change from a few years ago when we were almost exclusively a large animal practice,” explains long-time practice manager and veterinary nurse Maeve Fenton.

Old Church Veterinary Clinic is committed to providing the very best veterinary care for all your animal and pet needs. The practice prides itself on the care and expertise of its vets and the compassion of its nursing staff, not to mention its friendly and prompt service. With it’s state-of-the-art facilities and diagnostic equipment, combined with the latest veterinary medical and surgical techniques and procedures, Old Church Veterinary Clinic ensures your animal gets the best care possible.

The practice offers a wide range of services for companion, farm and equine animals. A 24-hour emergency service is provided. Its vets travel the roads of the North-West on a daily basis delivering unrivalled veterinary care to the livestock of the area. Be it a cow calving in the middle of the night or a simple query about vaccination, Old Church Veterinary’s farm clients can rest assured that there is a competent, efficient and reliable veterinary service at the other end of the phone.

Among the large animal services provided are cow scanning, bull and ram fertility, X-Rays and orthopaedics. Old Church is a strong advocate of herd health, including disease monitoring and vaccination.

Services for small animals or pets include vaccinations, worming, neutering, diagnostics and laboratory, surgery, orthopaedics, micro-chipping, dental care, pet passports, pet foods and toys, dietary advice and rabbit care. Vaccinations are vitally important given the large numbers of dogs and cats that become ill or die from infectious diseases every year.

Besides Gerard Gilligan and Nicholas Garvey, the vets currently attached to the practice are Patricia Harvey, Aoife Cox, John Mulligan and Luis Morera. Gerard has been a veterinary practitioner for over 30 years and has been instrumental in the evolution of the practice from being a typical large animal practice to a dynamic mixed practice and a small animal hospital. He is also involved in food safety audits, training and quality management systems.

Nicholas qualified as a veterinary practitioner in 2000 and has worked with Old Church Veterinary Hospital ever since, becoming a partner in 2006. He enjoys the diversity of being in a mixed practice with one of his specialities being orthopaedic surgery.

The long-serving vet at the practice after Gerard is Patricia Harvey, who joined in 1996. She too takes a keen interest in all aspects of a mixed practice.

Old Church Veterinary Hospital is a proud member of XL Vets, which is a group of 22 progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for their veterinary businesses. By sharing experience, knowledge and skills, the members strive to deliver excellence in veterinary practice to their clients and their animals.

XL Vets is an organisation of its members, for its members. It is, in effect, a cooperative. The board of XL Vets expects all of its members to actively participate within the group and to share ideas, knowledge and experience with other group members. The board also requires members to work in collaboration with other members to achieve positive outcomes.

The aim of XL Vets is to be at the heart of its farm clients’ business as the primary source of highly-valued, on-farm advice and the central coordinating consultant for other on-farm services. The group also endeavours to source and supply the highest quality, best-priced medicines and equipment.

Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 2 No 7, December 2014

Old Church Veterinary Hospital