A medical consultant has said he will continue to fight through the courts his suspension from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
"I believe I am not a threat to patients and have always practised medicine to the highest degree," Dr Colman Muldoon said, as a demonstration supporting him was staged outside the hospital.
On Saturday afternoon close to 1,000 people, including former patients and fellow consultants, marched in support of Dr Muldoon. A petition with 10,000 signatures demanding his reinstatement was handed in to hospital management.
The march organiser, Mr Shaun Lynch, told the crowd: "We are there to add our voice to the chorus of protests about the treatment by management of the Lourdes Hospital and the North Eastern Health Board. Dr Muldoon dedicated his life to the welfare of his patients. To be suspended for doing his job so well is an insult to his patients."
Dr Muldoon was suspended on the ground that he kept his patients in hospital too long. In the High Court last week he was refused an interlocutory injunction restraining the health board.
The Medical Missionaries of Mary, who established the Lourdes as an international training hospital, handed the hospital over to the NEHB last year.
Two other consultants, Dr Ciaran O'Boyle and Dr Anne Murphy, supported the calls for Dr Muldoon's reinstatement. Dr O'Boyle, a consultant physician, said: "Dr Muldoon has given 29 years of diligent, dedicated and loyal service to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and his patients and the community. He has given quality care. Statistics are only a comment on quantity of care."
As part of last week's proceedings by Dr Muldoon in challenging the decision by the health board to put him on paid administrative leave, the High Court heard that other consultants had sworn affidavits supporting the board's position, and that the six-year dispute centred on a clash of interests regarding the length of stay for Dr Muldoon's patients.
Dr O'Boyle added: "There are approximately 30 consultants who attend the hospital, and only a minority signed affidavits."