Published: Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 5:00pm

Mullingar set to host Winning Streak segment

Mullingar Order of Malta members

A segment of next Saturday's 'Winning Streak' on RTE 1 is to be broadcast from Mullingar. It will be filmed at St. Mary's Day Care Centre, which is home to the Mullingar Unit of the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps. The Mullingar Unit has been chosen following a successful application which was made to the National Lottery for funding for a new ambulance.

The sum of €35,000 was received by the Unit just last week and it is has been spent on the purchase and fitting out of a 4 x 4 ambulance, to replace one which had served the members for almost a decade. The new vehicle is expected to be ready for the road later this week and will be used to assist at a number of events in the locality in the coming months, including Kilbeggan Races, Point to Points, hunter trials and at Mullingar Equestrian Centre, where the Unit regularly carries out duties.

The Mullingar segment will be filmed between 12 noon and 1pm and will be beamed live to the studio in Dublin. The person spinning the wheel is from Cork and it is understood he will travel to Mullingar on Friday night to link up with the crew.

News of the choice of Mullingar came as a great boost to the local members who will endeavour to relate how the Order operates, not just locally but nationally, such as in the recent Flood Relief efforts and more recently still, in Haiti where our International organisation is working with the authorities to ease the suffering of the millions affected by the

devastating earthquake.

And following the glamour TV gig, it will be straight back to business for the unit who will be on duty in the Mullingar Park Hotel for the Lord of the Ring boxing tournament before offering their services to the GAA in Cusack Park on Sunday afternoon next for Westmeath's opening National Football League clash with Donegal.