A major step forward for €14m. Sunflower Children's Hospice in Mayo

Planning application submitted for state-of-the-art facility on site at Moneen in Castlebar

The Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation has submitted a planning application to Mayo County Council for the landmark €14 million Sunflower Children’s Hospice.

This pioneering children's hospice to be located at Moneen, Castlebar, within close proximity to the local Primary Care Centre, will provide specialist care and support for children with life-limiting illnesses and their families and serve eight counties along Ireland’s western seaboard.

The project marks a major milestone for paediatric palliative care in Ireland and it is understood up to 40 people will be employed initially.

Once completed, the Sunflower Children’s Hospice will become the first children’s hospice to be built outside Dublin and the first new children’s hospice developed in Ireland in over 15 years.

Designed as a state-of-the-art in-patient and respite facility, the 36,000 sq. ft. hospice will provide a warm, therapeutic and family-centred environment for children and young adults.

Facilities include a hydrotherapy pool, eight en-suite bedrooms with private garden or patio access, four family accommodation suites, and sensory rooms and sensory gardens.

The centre will also include a dedicated children and young adult spaces, teaching and education facilities as well as reflection and quiet rooms.

The overall project is expected to cost up to €14 million.

The plans were first unveiled in November 2025 and the foundation has already raised an impressive €7.5 million through community fundraising and donor support.

The site has been secured in Castlebar and both the government and the HSE have committed to supporting the project’s clinical governance.

Subject to planning approval, construction is expected to commence before the end of 2026, with the hospice anticipated to be completed within two years.

The planned building can be viewed at: www.sunflowerchildrenshospice.ie

The facility is primarily single storey with part two storey to the front of the building.

The development will consist of a new vehicular entrance and pedestrian access routes, landscaped therapy gardens, 43 vehicular parking spaces, bicycle stand, designated external services area, ESB substation, renewable energy sources and plant at roof level, new connection to public sewer and all ancillary site development works.

Welcoming the news, Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll McNeill, said: "Another key milestone has been reached in the journey towards delivering a second national children’s hospice.

"This new hospice will be a hub for children’s palliative care, both regionally and nationally.

"Beyond providing clinical expertise, it will offer compassionate bereavement services and emotional support for children, siblings and their families.

"I acknowledge and thank Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, the wider community, volunteers, the HSE, and the dedicated clinicians whose efforts have brought this project to such an advanced stage.

"The government remains firmly committed to investing in children’s palliative care services, ensuring that every child has access to the right care, at the right time, and on an equitable basis across the country.

"I look forward to seeing the continued progress of this important and inspiring development."

Martina Jennings, CEO of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, told The Connaught Telegraph: "The submission of the planning application is a huge step forward in the development of the Sunflower Children's Hospice, which will be the first Children's Hospice outside Dublin serving the western seaboard.

"We are very proud of the final design, which has been directly informed by families, children, services providers and clinicians who will use the hospice.

"We are so grateful to the families who have lost children and who have children with life-limiting illnesses, who gave their time earlier this year and attended our consultation workshops, and let us know exactly what they need from this hospice.

“The support from HSE West and North West, the Department of Health and the Minister for Health has been incredible and this project will be delivered because of this collaboration.

"Since the minister launched our fundraising campaign last November, the response from communities across the region has been amazing, for which we are so grateful.

"We urge everyone to continue their support and help us to deliver this much-needed service for the west and north west Region. This hospice will ensure that the services a child with a life-limiting illness needs are no longer determined by where they live in our country.

“I thank Mayo County Council for their engagement at pre-planning stage and we will continue to work with them collaboratively throughout this process.”

Paul Foxe, chair of the Board of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, said: “The progress being made shows our commitment to delivering this project as soon as possible for the children and young adults with life-limiting illnesses in our region.

"Having already built and opened our Mayo Hospice and Roscommon Hospice and seeing the difference they both make to patients and families, we are determined to ensure our children and young adults also receive the dignity and respect they deserve while on a very difficult journey of dealing with a life-limiting illness.

“I thank the volunteers, support groups, corporate partners, donors and communities who have got behind this project, and we will honour that support by ensuring this project is delivered in the most cost and time effective way.”

Dr. Hilary Stokes, consultant paediatrician, HSE West and North West, clinical director for paediatrics, Women’s and Children’s Network, said: “The Sunflower Hospice has been designed with children, families and clinicians at its centre.

"It will strive to meet the needs of children and young people with life limiting conditions and their families through a holistic care approach, in a setting that is therapeutic, welcoming and tailored to their needs of the children and young people using it.

"It will provide practical and emotional support for parents, siblings and extended family members throughout a child’s journey.

“From a clinical perspective, this development will strengthen paediatric palliative care services across the western seaboard. It will make a very meaningful difference for children and families and will help ensure access to this level of care closer to home.”

For over 30 years, Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation has been dedicated to providing palliative care services to people with life limiting illnesses and their families in County Mayo and County Roscommon.

The Palliative Care Teams have supported more than 25,000 patients and their families to date.

Both Mayo Hospice and Roscommon Hospice were developed and paid for by fundraised income (a combined €15.3 million) and are a result of the great support received from the people of Mayo and Roscommon.

Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation is now calling on individuals, businesses and communities across the Region to continue to help bring Sunflower Children’s Hospice to life. To make a donation, see sunflowerchildrenshospice.ie/.