Roscommon family welcomes major milestone for children’s hospice
An artist's impression of the Sunflower Children's Hospice which was recently granted planning permission.
A Lisacul family whose 12-year-old son needs around-the-clock care have welcomed planning permission for a new children’s hospice saying it will give families like theirs “breathing space, strength, and hope”.
Linda Cox, mother of Daire Cox from Lisacul, says the Sunflower Children’s Hospice, planned for Castlebar, will be of enormous benefit to her family and hundreds of others across the west, easing the burden of travelling back and forth to Dublin.
“It’s an emotional day for parents of children with life-limiting illnesses in the West of Ireland and we are so thrilled that the Sunflower Children’s Hospice is over the line,” she said.
“It will be of enormous benefit to not just my family but hundreds of other families in the West of Ireland and it will take the sting out of driving back and forth to Dublin. It will really give families like ours breathing space, strength, and hope. I want to thank Martina Jennings for not forgetting about the children and families in the West of Ireland.”
Funded by Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, the facility at Moneen will provide specialist paediatric palliative care for children with life-limiting conditions and support for their families across the western seaboard.
It will be the first children’s hospice built outside Dublin and the first new children’s hospice developed in Ireland in more than 15 years.
The development is expected to cost €20 million. Since plans were unveiled in November 2025, approximately €9 million has been raised through community and corporate fundraising, donor support and local initiatives.
The sod is due to be turned at the Castlebar site next month, with construction expected to begin in January 2027. Building work is anticipated to take approximately two years, and the hospice is scheduled to open to patients in 2029.
The hospice’s design has been shaped by families who will use the service, alongside clinicians, to ensure it reflects the needs of children and their families.
Feedback helped inform practical and therapeutic features, including a canopy over the front entrance, a shower immediately inside the front door and a hydrotherapy pool.
The 36,000 sq ft hospice will have eight en-suite bedrooms with private garden or patio access, four family accommodation suites, sensory rooms and gardens, dedicated spaces for children and young adults, teaching and education facilities, and reflection and quiet rooms.
Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation chief executive Martina Jennings and board chair Paul Foxe welcomed the planning decision and thanked Mayo County Council, elected councillors, HSE West and North West, the Department of Health and the Minister for Health for their support.
“Most importantly, we are delighted for the children, young adults and families that will benefit from the Sunflower Children’s Hospice,” they said.
“So many of them gave their time during our workshops earlier this year to help shape the design of the hospice and tell us exactly what they needed.
“This hospice will ensure that the services a child or young adult with a life-limiting illness needs are no longer determined by where they live in our country.”
“The fundraising doesn’t stop here. We need to continue our fundraising drive over the next two years to ensure the doors open and that these vital services can be delivered for generations to come.”
Chuck Dunford, from Ballina, whose son Kevin died in April 2014 after years of travelling back and forth to Dublin to receive care for a life-limiting condition, said that the “planning permission announcement is a monumental step forward for children and families across the western seaboard. We know how important it is for children and families to have this specialist palliative care support in this region, having experienced first-hand the challenges of travelling to Dublin to access inpatient hospice care for Kevin.”
“For us as a family, it is lovely to think that with the building of the Sunflower Children’s Hospice, other children and families in the future will not have to face the same challenges as we did, and will now be able to access specialist palliative care on the western seaboard. The Sunflower Children’s Hospice in the West of Ireland will be transformative beyond belief.”
Dr Hilary Stokes, consultant paediatrician and director of the Children’s and Young People’s Network at HSE West and North West, said the hospice would represent a significant advance in care for the region.
“It will ensure children with life-limiting conditions and their families have access to specialist, purpose-built care closer to home, supported by the appropriate clinical governance structures,” she said.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll McNeill said the Government and HSE were committed to supporting the facility, which would provide specialist care and respite for children, young adults and their families.
“No family should face additional challenges in accessing the care and support they need because of where they live,” she said.
“I want to acknowledge the incredible work of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation in bringing this vision forward and for the dedication, leadership and determination that has brought the project to this stage.
“I also want to thank the Foundation’s supporters and the communities across the region who have worked tirelessly to make this project a reality.
“Planning permission brings us another important step closer to seeing the Sunflower Children’s Hospice open its doors and providing a lasting service to families across the West of Ireland.”
