Siobhan Corry wins prestigious Frank Mullan Trophy at AVSPNI Omagh Day
Veterinary surgeons gather for annual event at AFBI and Silverbirch Hotel
The Association of Veterinary Surgeons Practicing in Northern Ireland (AVSPNI), which counts over 550 vets in practice amongst its members, hosted its annual prestigious “Omagh Day” last month. This event was first held in the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Omagh Veterinary Laboratory 50 years ago in 1975 and has taken place there every year since, apart from in 2021, when it had to be held online and in 2022, when it was held at another location later in the year, both due to Covid.
Attendees were able to view a sideshow of photographs taken over the years, which included colleagues and friends from practice and AFBI, some who are sadly no longer with us.
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Outgoing AVSPNI President, Iain Smith, warmly welcomed vets to the AFBI Laboratories on a very chilly winter’s day. It is one of the largest and most popular events of its type in Northern Ireland, attracting more than 90 local veterinary practitioners. This is the only local veterinary event regularly attended by the president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), and this year's President, Linda Belton, was in attendance, as was the Northern Ireland Chief Veterinary Officer, Brian Dooher.
Omagh Day serves as a forum for veterinary professionals to share insights, engage in friendly competition and stay abreast of the latest developments in their field, as well catch up with their colleagues. It was facilitated with the aid of generous support from sponsors MSD and VSSCo.
Each year, four presentations are delivered by four vets currently practicing in Northern Ireland and the best presentation is chosen by the RCVS President. Up first was Sarah Fulton, who was the 2022 recipient of a generous educational bursary from VSSCo.
Sarah used the bursary to further her equine dental knowledge. She gave an equine dental presentation on how to perform a Modern Equine Dental Exam and explaining how to find pathologies and what to do about them. She stressed the importance of having the right tool for the job and how this impacted on both treatment and outcome.
Robert McCabe gave a comprehensive and practical overview on ophthalmology in practice entitled: “Ophthalmology - Through the looking glass”, which included much audience participation.
After a few words from the generous sponsors VSSCo, local veterinary wholesalers, and from pharmaceutical company MSD, Zoe Jameson gave a thought-provoking presentation on equine gastric ulcers, entitled “When to scope and what we are looking for”. This included how behavioural issues in horses can be related to undiagnosed gastric ulceration.
The last presentation was given by Siobhan Corry (Vet Research Officer at AFBI Omagh). She presented on a selection of interesting diagnostic cases seen at AFBI in recent years, from viral diseases to parasitic conditions. She closed with advice that if farmers or vets are struggling with the impact of these problems, they should seek advice or help if needed from Rural Support or Vet Support.
After the presentations at AFBI labs, attendees headed to the Silverbirch Hotel for the AVSPNI AGM, at which Melanie Spahn of Glenshane Veterinary Clinic was installed as 2025 AVSPNI President. This was followed by the award presentation by RCVS President Linda Belton. The excellent presentations from all four participants made the task of adjudication particularly tough, as the standard of all the talks was once again very high. Dr Belton awarded the Frank Mullan memorial trophy to Siobhan Corry.
This year marked the attendance of 26 successive RCVS Presidents at this event and AVSPNI would like to thank Linda for taking the time out of her busy schedule to attend. AVSPNI would also like to thank VSSCo and MSD for their very generous sponsorship and help in making this such a successful event. Their continued support is much appreciated.