We are the national charity addressing dying, death and bereavement in Ireland.
Our vision is an Ireland where people facing dying, death and bereavement are provided with the information, care and support that they need.
28/11/2025
🌟Good luck to everyone taking part in tonight’s Never Forgotten Night Walk! 💛
✨Wishing each and every one of our 1,500 participants a safe, meaningful walk this evening.
Thanks to your incredible support — we have raised over €112,000 to support our vital work in end of life and bereavement care. 💙
Thanks to our charity partner Londis Ireland for their incredible support.
If you'd like to support our work, please consider donating at hospicefoundation.ie/donate.
If you’re missing someone tonight, please know you’re not alone.
Our Bereavement Support Line is here to listen with care and compassion:
☎️ 1800 80 70 77, Mon–Fri, 10am–1pm
👉 bereaved.ie
27/11/2025
Tomorrow, Friday the 28th at 5pm, marks our Never Forgotten Night Walk. Join us as communities across Ireland walk (or jog/run) 5km in memory of loved ones we’ve lost — and in support of all who are grieving.
Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far. This will truly be something special.
If you’re missing someone today, tomorrow, or over the days ahead, please know you are not alone.
Our Bereavement Support Line is here to listen with care and compassion.
💙 Freephone: 1800 80 70 77
🕙 Mon–Fri, 10am–1pm
👉 bereaved.ie
27/11/2025
On Tuesday, Irish Hospice Foundation attended A Panel on Living, Su***de Resistance & Grief at the Albert Theatre, RCSI Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
We were proud to host an information stand and connect with attendees for this important national conversation about compassion, community, su***de resistance and the many forms of grief experienced across Ireland.
Thank you to the panel of researchers, clinicians, advocates and artists for their valuable insights:
Matthew Kelly, Dr Eve Griffin, Eric Clarke, Dr Trudy Meehan, and Dr Jennifer Michael Hecht
💛 If you or someone you know is grieving, our supports are available at bereaved.ie
27/11/2025
This is our End-of-Life Symbol. We post it on the last Thursday of every month to remember those who've died in Ireland recently. Our thoughts are with all those who are grieving.
Please remember you're not alone in grief.
Call our Bereavement Support Line
☎️ 1800 80 70 77
Mon - Fri, 10am - 1pm
Visit our Bereavement & Loss Hub for grief support 👉 bereaved.ie
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25/11/2025
In our latest Blog on childhoodbereavement.ie, "The Way Home: Navigating the ‘why’ of su***de in childhood bereavement", guest blogger Dr Trudy Meehan shares her personal story and her journey of supporting her daughter through the su***de bereavement of her father.
Trudy writes, "When my daughter’s father died by su***de, I didn’t know what to do or say. I went to the books for advice. I couldn’t find what I needed, so I wrote my own book, The Way Home."
In this blog, Trudy generously shares her insight as a mam and a Clinical Psychologist, sharing her navigating of the 'why' with her daughter, explaining how she used the book, and what else she found helpful.
Today, we celebrated our newest graduates from the Professional Certificate in Children and Loss and MSc Loss & Bereavement programmes, delivered in association with the (RCSI) Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
We are proud to welcome you to our growing alumni and community of bereavement and grief experts in Ireland.
Your dedication, compassion, and expertise will make a real difference in the lives of those who are grieving, helping to create more understanding and supportive communities and workplaces.
We are excited to see the positive impact you will have as you continue your professional journeys.
If you’re interested in learning more about our postgraduate programmes, visit 👇
This , we’re sharing “I keep my grief in the light to keep it from growing,” a beautiful poem by Sara Rian Books.
It’s a gentle reminder that while we grieve, bringing our grief into the open — acknowledging it, speaking about it, and allowing ourselves to feel supported — can help soften the weight of loss. 💚
Take a moment to pause, reflect, and find comfort in these words.
If you’re missing someone today, please know you are not alone.
Our Bereavement Support Line is here to listen with care and compassion.
💙 Freephone: 1800 80 70 77
🕙 Mon–Fri, 10am–1pm 👉 bereaved.ie
22/11/2025
✨ We’re grateful to share a message from Niamh Finucane of St Francis Hospice.
Niamh speaks about supporting children and families through illness, death and bereavement. She also speaks about the importance of giving children space, honesty, and age-appropriate information. Her insight is a reminder that when adults feel unsure, children often need us most.
💛 Thank you to Niamh and the team at St Francis Hospice for the vital work they do.
A few common myths about children’s grief, and the facts that really matter. 💛
For more information on supporting bereaved children, visit 👉 childhoodbereavement.ie
20/11/2025
Today we’re sharing two wonderful reading pieces to help children navigate one of their first experiences of loss — the death of a family pet.
💛 A message from Patrice Karst, author of The Invisible String. Her beautiful series includes The Invisible Leash, which offers comfort to children after the loss of a beloved pet.
🐾 For many children, this is their first encounter with grief — and books like The Invisible Leash can help us find the right words.
📖 This year, the Invisible Leash was translated into Braille.
💛 Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor, Lecturer and mam, Margaret Bowen, has written a reflective blog about pet loss and those early conversations about death with children — including her own family’s story of “brother dog.”
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Irish Hospice Foundation was set up in 1986 to fund and develop specific hospice services. Since then our work has expanded to address the needs of people dying in hospitals, at home and in other care settings. We work to provide equity in access to palliative care services for all patients with life limiting illness. We also promote discussion of a broad range of issues related to dying, death and bereavement, in order to identify what matters most to Irish people at the end of life and how best to address their concerns.
Our mission is to achieve dignity, comfort and choice for all people facing end of life.
Death and dying affects each and every one of us. Every year, 30,000 people die in Ireland and up to 300,000 are newly bereaved. Irish Hospice Foundation strives for the best care at end of life and in bereavement for these people and practical support for their loved ones.
THIS IS SOME OF WHAT WE DELIVER:
Hospice Home Care for Children: We have invested €2.5 million in providing Children’s Outreach Nurses all around Ireland, a Consultant Paediatrician with a special interest in palliative care and training for healthcare staff. All of these programmes are delivered in partnership with the HSE.
Education and research: Every year nearly 3,000 people take part in our training programmes and we estimate that over 50,000 people have received training in aspects of good end-of-life care and bereavement since we were established. We also fund pioneering research on end-of-life and palliative care issues across Ireland.
Nurses for Night Care: This free national service for people with illnesses other than cancer enables more people fulfill their wish to die at home. This service costs €500,000 per annum.
Hospice Friendly Hospitals: This programme aims to improve end-of-life care in hospitals. The learning from this programme is now being applied in residential care settings for older people.
Innovation in primary care and in people’s homes: We support developments in these settings so that better end-of- life care can be delivered everywhere and for everyone.
Innovation in new areas: We are committed to nurturing new areas. In 2013 we were able to attract philanthropic funding for an ambitious national programme, ‘Changing Minds’, which aims to promote excellence in end-of-life care for people living with dementia.
Advocacy: Through advocacy and awareness-raising, we work to promote a better understanding of end-of-life care issues and to influence decision-makers to make services more widely available to all who need them. We actively promote discussion of issues related to dying, death and bereavement in order to identify Irish people’s concerns about these matters and consider how they might be addressed.
