All in St Francis Hospice are saddened to hear of the death of Brother Kevin Crowley OFM Cap, RIP. His dedicated work to ease suffering and deprivation through the Capuchin Day Centre that he founded in 1969 is an inspiration to all. Br Kevin was also instrumental in the establishment of St Francis Hospice and served as founding Director when the Board of Directors was established in January 1990.
Br Kevin was resident in the Capuchin Friary in Raheny in the late 1980s, at a time when a site was being sought for a hospice to serve north Dublin. He and his fellow friars welcomed members of the Daughters of Charity and Irish Hospice Foundation when they made contact regarding their search.
Subsequently, the hospice service began operating out of a Porta-Cabin on the friary grounds. This fledgling community-based home care service provided the first specialist palliative care for the community of north Dublin. The friary’s orchard and gardens were then donated as land for the hospice to be built upon. This new hospice service was named St Francis Hospice in recognition of the generosity of the Capuchin order.
Prior to the completion of the hospice building, much of the vital fundraising activity and awareness-raising activities centred around the Capuchin friary. Volunteers from the community utilised the facilities offered by the friars to host coffee mornings, information sharing and other events. This helped to galvanise community support for the hospice.
Br Kevin was a staunch supporter of the hospice and helped establish a supportive relationship between the Capuchin Friary and St Francis Hospice which continues to this day. Capuchin friars serve as chaplains in both St Francis Hospice Raheny and Blanchardstown, and the Guardian of the Capuchin Friary in Raheny serves on the St Francis Hospice Board of Directors.
Pictured l-r: Sr Annette McKenna, Dr Mary Redmond, Sr Dorothy Kearon, Br Angelus O’Neill, Br Kevin Crowley, Sr Bernadette MacMahon at St Francis Hospice Raheny, official opening of the in-patient unit, 1996.
Brick by brick, together we can build the new 24-bed, single room in-patient unit for St Francis Hospice Raheny.
Buy a brick here and add your message to our virtual community supporter wall.
Our new Children and Young People’s Charter spells out in child-friendly language and graphics our commitment to the children and young people under our care and those whose loved ones are receiving hospice care through our services. Framed copies will be displayed in both our hospices and there is a printed leaflet to give further information to families.
Read our Spring/Summer issue of Hospice Connection to find out about Declan’s revitalising experience of care in our Outpatient and Day Service. Meet our “fur-tastic” Spring Memorial Walk ambassadors, volunteer therapy dogs Vixy and Bo! Learn about our newest bereavement support initiatives, a monthly Grief Café and a Walk and Talk group.
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This St Francis Hospice publication is designed to help people better understand the natural process of dying. It contains helpful information for anyone whose loved one is receiving end of life care, whether at home, hospice, or another care setting.
St Francis Hospice marks Bereaved Children’s Awareness Week 18th – 22nd November 2024 with the development of a poster outlining supports for bereaved children. This includes two books published by our social work department that are available free of charge from our online shop: https://www.sfh.ie/shop/.
Read our Autumn/Winter issue of Hospice Connection to find out about building plans for our new 24-bed single room in-patient unit in Raheny. Learn about the experiences of Shenda (RIP) and her family in St Francis Hospice. Find out more about four of our wonderful volunteers. Enter our Annual Car Draw for a chance to win!
St Francis Hospice Dublin held its first annual Clinical Audit Blitz during Palliative Care Week in September 2024.
Excellence is a core value in St Francis Hospice, and clinical audit is an important tool for quality improvement as we strive to ensure the highest standard of care for our patients and their families.
Colleagues gathered in our education centres in both St Francis Hospice Raheny and Blanchardstown to watch and hear a variety of interesting presentations about a diverse range of audits carried out in recent times.
Huge congratulations to all our colleagues who participated and especially to Sinead Coyle, Senior Physiotherapist, on her winning presentation based on her audit of physiotherapy documentation that led to significant improvements in practice.
Thank you to our adjudicator Cathy Doyle, board director and member of our Board Quality and Risk Sub-Committee, and to Sheila O’Leary, Quality, Risk, and Patient Safety Manager, who organised the event.
We are proud to be shortlisted in two categories (Employer Excellence Award and Excellence in Leadership Award) at this year’s Charity Excellence Awards hosted by the Charities Institute Ireland. The ceremony takes place on 3rd October.
We are also eligible for the People’s Choice Award – please click and vote for St Francis Hospice Dublin before 2nd October 2024! Thank you for your support.
