See the impact you have

Meeting hospice patient Hazel Skelton is a profound and uplifting experience. Despite facing a stark diagnosis, she remains open, entertaining, and genuinely lovely company. However, just beneath the fragile shield she has carefully built to protect her loved ones, a different and difficult story of her illness unfolds. t plays out in private moments of loneliness and unwitnessed bravery. Even so, Hazel is “in a very good place.”

Our care isn’t just about medical care. It’s social, cultural and spiritual too.

Anna Gaynor House is a purpose-built eighty-nine bedded residential unit providing a safe and comfortable living environment to those with high dependencies who require 24-hour nursing care.

All residents benefit from working with a multidisciplinary team, regular exercise classes and multisensory work such as music and art therapy etc.

Your help changes lives every day.
Hilary Mills, Clinical Nurse Manager, speaks about the difference Wicklow Hospice makes to the community.

”People say to me a lot – it must be a sad job. But for me it’s about what I can give to it. And the positive, life-enhancing and inspiring atmosphere that’s created between patients and staff.

Nursing my own father at home definitely gave me a different spin on the palliative care approach. He wanted to be at home and we were able to facilitate that for him. But the challenges of it really struck me. There’s a massive burden of making sure you’re doing the right thing. That’s why it’s so important to have a Community Palliative Care team who visit and care for patients who want to stay in their own home.

For those who need to come into hospice, Wicklow Hospice feels like a home away from home. It’s a place families can be, without having to worry about the actual care needs.

Since opening its doors in 2003, Blackrock Hospice has provided vital palliative care services that have helped tens of thousands of patients and their families.

In 2022 we embarked on a state-of-the art refurbishment project to upgrade the facilities at Blackrock Hospice costing c.€7.2m. Our aim was to create a high-quality and comforting environment for patients and their families. This included extending 12 patient bedrooms, upgrades to clinical, patient and staff areas, and a substantial landscaping project, which is ongoing.

In March 2023, An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD officially reopened Blackrock Hospice, which was a wonderful occasion for all. The newly renovated hospice is transforming and enhancing the environment in which we care for patients and their loved ones. It is also helping staff provide the best possible care, at what can be a difficult time in people’s lives.

Costing c.€7.2 million, most funds needed this project have come from kind people like you. We have c.€5.8m raised to date and with €750,000 donated by the HSE, we have a total of €6.6m, with a balance of c.€667k required.

And so, we’re calling on wonderful people like you to help us reach our target to complete this project!

Thank you for your support.