25th June 2025

Brendan Gleeson joined us in our Raheny hospice today to launch our Buy a Brick campaign to support the building of a 24 single-bed in-patient unit. Brendan, whose parents both received care in St Francis Hospice Raheny, said, “I know how much of a game changer this new facility will be for the entire community of North Dublin. Brick by brick, we can make this happen.”

St Francis Hospice needs to raise €20million for the new facility, which will enable staff to care for 9,600 patients over the next 25 years. That is nearly 3,000 more than the existing in-patient unit would be able to accommodate. In total, the new in-patient unit will positively affect the lives of about 100,000 members of our community through the care it will provide for patients and their family members over the next 25 years.

Our Buy a Brick campaign invites people to contribute to the build by buying a brick for €25, €100, or €250 and then leaving their name or message on a Virtual Community Support Wall.

Brendan urged everyone to embrace the project. “I know first-hand how difficult end-of-life care can be for families. Hospice care is magical in terms of the respect, dignity and compassion it offers to people receiving palliative care. This new unit will provide the privacy, comfort, and highest quality facilities that people need and deserve.”

Construction at the site is due to begin next year and will also include an underground carpark and clinical support facilities with a pedestrian bridge linking it to the existing building.

The Buy a Brick campaign will run from today until the new in-patient unit is completely paid for. You can participate by visiting our Buy a Brick web page  or contacting the Fundraising Department at 01-8327535.

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.

Click image to register or find out more.

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.

Our volunteer gardener Marie Norton and staff member Barbara Kilbride collected plants that were donated from Mountjoy female prison, the Dochas Centre. Many thanks for the plants, they will truly enhance the beauty of our Raheny & Blanchardstown hospice gardens for the benefit of our patients and their loved ones.