Our History
Friday, April 6th, 1990 marked the official launch of the South Tipperary Hospice Movement. In her address on the occasion, the chairperson, Dr Marie Ryan-Carew described the launch as; “a very special occasion for South Tipperary. It marks the beginning of a movement which has proven successful in other areas in Ireland and abroad and has enriched the lives of givers and receivers, a movement which brings peace, serenity and dignity at a very sensitive time in people’s lives.”
The South Tipperary Hospice Movement had, from the outset the enthusiastic support of all the caring agencies, family practitioners, nurses, hospitals and clergy in the area, together with many voluntary organisations and individuals.
The Irish Cancer society had already committed themselves to grant aiding the project by allocating funds from the proceeds of the Daffodil Day. However, a significant sum of money still remained to be raised through local fundraising and the people of South Tipperary were magnificent in their response to the appeal for funds.
Of course, the movement has gone from strength to strength, and through the involvement and generosity of the people has become a truly community owned organisation.
The Members of the South Tipperary Hospice Movement Committee in 1990 at the time of the launch:
Dr. Marie Ryan-Carew, Chairperson (Cashel)
Dr. Diarmuid O'Regan, Vice-Chairperson (Clonmel)
Mr. Brendan O'Keeffe, Hon Secretary (Clonmel)
Mr. Dennis O'Donoghue, P.R.O. (Clonmel)
Mrs. Frances Dawson (Clonmel)
Ms. Maureen Considine (Clonmel)
Sr. Annuciata Hennessy (Clonmel)
Mr. Chris Daly (Cashel)
Mr. John Carew (Tipperary)
Ms. Peg Power (Carrick-on-Suir)
Mr. Chris O'Shea (Cahir)
Mr. Brendan Webb (Cahir)
Former committee members included;
Mr. Andrew Essame, Rosa Gardner, Breda MacCormack, Kay Hyland and Myra Cashin.
Work over the years:
The nature of the work has changed over the years. Numbers built up rapidly initially when the service became appreciated and valued. Initially only patients with cancer and motor neurone disease were seen but now we have expanded to include all who require specialised palliative care. This has, of course, led to an increase in referrals. The natural history of cancer has changed over the years with increasing survival rates. For some patients cancer is a chronic disease which will not actually be their cause of death. This has enabled patients to be discharged from the service, some permanently, and some are referred again.
Staffing:
Kathleen Murray and Dympna Mangan were first two nurses who started work in 1990 and in 1922 Noreen Kennedy joined the service on a part-time basis. In 1993 Mary Dempsey started and Dympna Mangan returned to public health nursing. Anne Grace started in 1994, Nora Lyne in 1995 and Mary McNamara in 2002. Noreen Kennedy went to public health nursing in 2007 and Suzanne Collins and Trish Phelan joined in 2008 when Mary Dempsey retired. Ann O Shea and Aisling Fanning started in 2011. 2015 saw the retirements of Kathleen Murray and Ann Grace and Ann O'Shea. Anne Grace continues in a part time capacity. We therefore went from two whole time equivalent posts to six whole time equivalent posts.
Statistics over the years:
The nature of the work has changed over the years. Numbers built up rapidly initially when the service became appreciated and valued. Initially only patients with cancer and motor neurone disease were seen but now we have expanded to include all who require specialised palliative care. This has, of course, led to an increase in referrals. The natural history of cancer has changed over the years with increasing survival rates. For some patients cancer is a chronic disease which will not actually be their cause of death. This has enabled patients to be discharged from the service, some permanently, and some are referred again.
How the service is run:
The home care team offices are in Mandeville House, The Quay, Clonmel. Here the consultant, registrar, nurses and occupational therapist hold the multidisciplinary team meetings and which is the permanent base for the nursing team. Administrative and secretarial support is provided by an office manager and by part-time secretarial support.
Administrative functions are performed by two part-times secretarial stuff. Logistics and all business related functions are performed by the Manager who also acts as the contact person for the various support groups and fundraisers for the Movement. The abovementioned is performed with the invaluable and continued support of the voluntary Committee members.
Support Groups and Fund Raisers:
The hospice movement could not exist without the fantastic efforts of the fundraisers. We receive a grant from the HSE of less than a third of running costs. We are therefore dependant on the very generous donations of the people of South Tipperary/West Waterford. There are some very established support groups, and there are also spontaneous fund raising events of a most amazingly varied nature ranging from pub quizzes to concerts, from mini-marathons to parachute jumping, from silage days to tractor runs, and the list goes on and on.
For Reflection:
"No matter what we often believe, dying is not an encounter with nothingness, devoid of all meaning. Without detracting from the pain of this journey through mourning and renunciation, I would like to show how the last interval before death can also be the culmination of the shaping of a human being, event as it transforms everyone else involved. There is still time for many things to live themselves out, on a different plane, more interior and more subtle, the plane of human relations."
Marie de Hennezel (1997) Intimate Death: How the Dying Teach Us To Live. Little, Brown and Company, London, preface xiv.
The South Tipperary Hospice Movement had, from the outset the enthusiastic support of all the caring agencies, family practitioners, nurses, hospitals and clergy in the area, together with many voluntary organisations and individuals.
The Irish Cancer society had already committed themselves to grant aiding the project by allocating funds from the proceeds of the Daffodil Day. However, a significant sum of money still remained to be raised through local fundraising and the people of South Tipperary were magnificent in their response to the appeal for funds.
Of course, the movement has gone from strength to strength, and through the involvement and generosity of the people has become a truly community owned organisation.
The Members of the South Tipperary Hospice Movement Committee in 1990 at the time of the launch:
Dr. Marie Ryan-Carew, Chairperson (Cashel)
Dr. Diarmuid O'Regan, Vice-Chairperson (Clonmel)
Mr. Brendan O'Keeffe, Hon Secretary (Clonmel)
Mr. Dennis O'Donoghue, P.R.O. (Clonmel)
Mrs. Frances Dawson (Clonmel)
Ms. Maureen Considine (Clonmel)
Sr. Annuciata Hennessy (Clonmel)
Mr. Chris Daly (Cashel)
Mr. John Carew (Tipperary)
Ms. Peg Power (Carrick-on-Suir)
Mr. Chris O'Shea (Cahir)
Mr. Brendan Webb (Cahir)
Former committee members included;
Mr. Andrew Essame, Rosa Gardner, Breda MacCormack, Kay Hyland and Myra Cashin.
Work over the years:
The nature of the work has changed over the years. Numbers built up rapidly initially when the service became appreciated and valued. Initially only patients with cancer and motor neurone disease were seen but now we have expanded to include all who require specialised palliative care. This has, of course, led to an increase in referrals. The natural history of cancer has changed over the years with increasing survival rates. For some patients cancer is a chronic disease which will not actually be their cause of death. This has enabled patients to be discharged from the service, some permanently, and some are referred again.
Staffing:
Kathleen Murray and Dympna Mangan were first two nurses who started work in 1990 and in 1922 Noreen Kennedy joined the service on a part-time basis. In 1993 Mary Dempsey started and Dympna Mangan returned to public health nursing. Anne Grace started in 1994, Nora Lyne in 1995 and Mary McNamara in 2002. Noreen Kennedy went to public health nursing in 2007 and Suzanne Collins and Trish Phelan joined in 2008 when Mary Dempsey retired. Ann O Shea and Aisling Fanning started in 2011. 2015 saw the retirements of Kathleen Murray and Ann Grace and Ann O'Shea. Anne Grace continues in a part time capacity. We therefore went from two whole time equivalent posts to six whole time equivalent posts.
Statistics over the years:
The nature of the work has changed over the years. Numbers built up rapidly initially when the service became appreciated and valued. Initially only patients with cancer and motor neurone disease were seen but now we have expanded to include all who require specialised palliative care. This has, of course, led to an increase in referrals. The natural history of cancer has changed over the years with increasing survival rates. For some patients cancer is a chronic disease which will not actually be their cause of death. This has enabled patients to be discharged from the service, some permanently, and some are referred again.
How the service is run:
The home care team offices are in Mandeville House, The Quay, Clonmel. Here the consultant, registrar, nurses and occupational therapist hold the multidisciplinary team meetings and which is the permanent base for the nursing team. Administrative and secretarial support is provided by an office manager and by part-time secretarial support.
Administrative functions are performed by two part-times secretarial stuff. Logistics and all business related functions are performed by the Manager who also acts as the contact person for the various support groups and fundraisers for the Movement. The abovementioned is performed with the invaluable and continued support of the voluntary Committee members.
Support Groups and Fund Raisers:
The hospice movement could not exist without the fantastic efforts of the fundraisers. We receive a grant from the HSE of less than a third of running costs. We are therefore dependant on the very generous donations of the people of South Tipperary/West Waterford. There are some very established support groups, and there are also spontaneous fund raising events of a most amazingly varied nature ranging from pub quizzes to concerts, from mini-marathons to parachute jumping, from silage days to tractor runs, and the list goes on and on.
For Reflection:
"No matter what we often believe, dying is not an encounter with nothingness, devoid of all meaning. Without detracting from the pain of this journey through mourning and renunciation, I would like to show how the last interval before death can also be the culmination of the shaping of a human being, event as it transforms everyone else involved. There is still time for many things to live themselves out, on a different plane, more interior and more subtle, the plane of human relations."
Marie de Hennezel (1997) Intimate Death: How the Dying Teach Us To Live. Little, Brown and Company, London, preface xiv.