Minister says wing of new children's hospital might be named after medic Kathleen Lynn
HEALTH MINISTER JENNIFER Carroll MacNeill has defended the name of the country's new children's hospital.
The hospital is to be officially called the National Children's Hospital of Ireland, however the name has been described as 'unimaginative' by those in Sinn Féin.
Over the years, there have been campaigns for the hospital to be named after a historical figure, such as
Dr Kathleen Lynn
.
Lynn was a suffragette and doctor who co-founded Saint Ultan's Children's Hospital in Dublin in 1919 with her partner Madeleine ffrench-Mullen.
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Lynn, who was from Mayo, was also the chief medical officer for the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising.
Speaking to reporters today, the minister acknowledged the criticisms of the name, but said the reason the name was picked is it 'was very simple'.
She explained that there was a process of engagement with youth advisory groups, with parents and with patients, stating: 'That is the name that they chose'.
'And I think it's a good name,' said the minister, who added that people will likely just call it the 'Children's Hospital'.
'But what I'm really most concerned about is stressed out parents coming into Heuston station, getting in a taxi, and maybe that parent doesn't speak English as their first language, or maybe they just need to get their children to the Children's Hospital,' she said, adding that the 'simplest possible name' is best.
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The country's new children's hospital will be called (drumroll) – the National Children's Hospital Ireland
Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
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The minister said she believes it is important to reflect on the different conversations that have been had around Kathleen Lynn, calling her an extraordinary woman, medic and patriot.
'She was a ferocious, very brave, very fantastic woman, and I would love to see her commemorated in different ways. So I'm going to speak to the youth advisory committee in the National Children's Hospital Ireland. I would like to name something within the hospital after her,' said the minister, who said perhaps a wing or auditorium within the hospital could be named after her.
'I would like to find a way to acknowledge and commemorate her extraordinary work. But in respect of the overall name of the hospital, I just had to go with A, what was chosen by the young people themselves, and B, what I thought would be just the simplest thing for a stressed out parent,' she concluded.
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The Journal
15 hours ago
- The Journal
Minister says wing of new children's hospital might be named after medic Kathleen Lynn
HEALTH MINISTER JENNIFER Carroll MacNeill has defended the name of the country's new children's hospital. The hospital is to be officially called the National Children's Hospital of Ireland, however the name has been described as 'unimaginative' by those in Sinn Féin. Over the years, there have been campaigns for the hospital to be named after a historical figure, such as Dr Kathleen Lynn . Lynn was a suffragette and doctor who co-founded Saint Ultan's Children's Hospital in Dublin in 1919 with her partner Madeleine ffrench-Mullen. Advertisement Lynn, who was from Mayo, was also the chief medical officer for the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising. Speaking to reporters today, the minister acknowledged the criticisms of the name, but said the reason the name was picked is it 'was very simple'. She explained that there was a process of engagement with youth advisory groups, with parents and with patients, stating: 'That is the name that they chose'. 'And I think it's a good name,' said the minister, who added that people will likely just call it the 'Children's Hospital'. 'But what I'm really most concerned about is stressed out parents coming into Heuston station, getting in a taxi, and maybe that parent doesn't speak English as their first language, or maybe they just need to get their children to the Children's Hospital,' she said, adding that the 'simplest possible name' is best. Related Reads The country's new children's hospital will be called (drumroll) – the National Children's Hospital Ireland Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill The minister said she believes it is important to reflect on the different conversations that have been had around Kathleen Lynn, calling her an extraordinary woman, medic and patriot. 'She was a ferocious, very brave, very fantastic woman, and I would love to see her commemorated in different ways. So I'm going to speak to the youth advisory committee in the National Children's Hospital Ireland. I would like to name something within the hospital after her,' said the minister, who said perhaps a wing or auditorium within the hospital could be named after her. 'I would like to find a way to acknowledge and commemorate her extraordinary work. But in respect of the overall name of the hospital, I just had to go with A, what was chosen by the young people themselves, and B, what I thought would be just the simplest thing for a stressed out parent,' she concluded. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal


The Irish Sun
16 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Taxpayers fork out surprising sum for ‘branding & naming process' for €2bn Children's Hospital as Minister defends cost
SOME €4,500 was spent coming up with the name for the new €2 billion children's hospital which has been officially named . . . The National Children's Hospital Ireland. A specialist branding agency was drafted in to help name the new facility. 1 The hospital is to be named The National Children's Hospital Credit: Alamy And A 'branding and naming process' was set up to come up with recommendations for the name of the long delayed This process included the recruitment of a 'specialist branding agency' with a shortlist of 17 names drawn up. Three main principles guided this naming process, including engagement, mindfulness of history and lessons learned, and time and cost effectiveness. READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS A series of focus groups were set up through CHI with a Youth Advisory The Department of Health told the Irish Sun that the entire process cost €4,500. Ultimately, the Minister for Health has decided to call the hospital the National The Minister today defended the name as she claimed it would make it easier for stressed parents to find in Most read in Irish News She said: 'The name of the children's hospital which I'm going to publish later today which is of course The National Children's Hospital Ireland which I see have been described in different ways. 'The reason why we picked that name is very simple. We had a process of engagement with the youth advisory groups, with Chaos as Dail suspended after opposition TDs break out in furious shouting row- 'I think it is a good name. Albeit, I think people are going to call it very simply the Children's Hospital but what I'm really most concerned about is a stressed out parent coming into Heuston Station and getting in a 'But I really thought it was important to reflect on the different conversation that has been had around Kathleen Lynn and what an extraordinary woman, what an extraordinary medic and extraordinary patriot Kathleen Lynn was. 'I was in the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital two weeks ago and we were opening the 'FANTASTIC WOMAN' 'She was a ferocious very brave very fantastic woman and I'd love to see her commemorated in different ways. 'So I'm going to speak to the youth advisory committee in the National Children's Hospital Ireland to see what they think. 'I would like to name something in the hospital after her. "Whether it's a wing or maybe an education auditorium so that generations of students perhaps can see her name and reflect on her name and know who she is. 'So I would like to find a way to acknowledge and commemorate her extraordinary work but in respect of the overall name of the hospital I just had to go with A – what was chosen by the young people themselves and B what I thought would be just the simplest thing for a stressed out parent to come up with.'


Irish Examiner
18 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Minister expresses confidence in 'brand new executive' taking charge of children's hospital
Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has affirmed her confidence in the executive team taking charge of the new national children's hospital. When members of Children's Health Ireland (CHI) appeared before the health committee recently, a number of TDs and senators said they no longer had confidence in the team following a string of controversies including unnecessary hip surgeries at Temple Street and Cappagh hospitals. Speaking on Wednesday, Ms Carroll MacNeill said that she has confidence in what she said is "a brand new executive". The minister said her interactions with CHI concern CEO Lucy Nugent, who has been in the role since February 2025, and the board of whom just one member has been in situ since before 2024. "I'm refreshing the board," said Ms Carroll MacNeill, explaining that two new members were appointed within the last number of weeks, two were appointed when she became minister, and two more will be appointed in the coming days. "I had a meeting with Lucy Nugent yesterday, I went through a range of different issues with her, on the hospital generally, on the issues we have been dealing with collectively in CHI — which predate her — and she is managing and trying to make sure that the reforms are implemented." The pair also discussed plans for the new hospital and how it will be managed on a national basis as well as Ms Nugent's plans to interact with the HSE and the audit teams. Hospital name criticism Ms Carroll McNeill has also defended the name given to the new hospital, which will be the National Children's Hospital Ireland. The name was chosen following engagement with the youth advisory group, parents, and patients, she said. "I think it's a good name," the Fine Gael minister said, after it was met with some criticism for its simplicity. "What I'm really most concerned about is stressed-out parents coming into Heuston Station, or getting in a taxi, or maybe that parent doesn't speak English as their first language, maybe they just need to get to the children's hospital." There had been a case made to name the hospital after politician, activist, and doctor Kathleen Lynn and Ms Carroll MacNeill said she would like to see something within the hospital bear Dr Lynn's name. National Sexual Health Strategy Meanwhile, Ms Carroll MacNeill also launched the National Sexual Health Strategy on Wednesday which, among a range of other things, examined access to contraception. Currently, free contraception is available to people over the age of 17 but the report acknowledges that younger people may need access to it for contraceptive purposes or the treatment of menstrual disorders. It notes that the current legal frameworks around various forms of consent make this an extremely complex matter — the age of medical consent is 16, sexual consent is 17, and consent under GDPR is 18. Ms Carroll MacNeill said she does not believe that the age of sexual consent will be revisited but recognised the need for young people to be protected from a public health perspective. "I see a broad public health benefit in supporting girls of all ages in relation to the things that they need," she said. The report also highlights the importance of encouraging uptake rates of vaccines such as the HPV vaccine. Ms Carroll MacNeill did not have an update on the roll-out of the HPV catch-up programme saying that she is "nearly more concerned" about the take up among those aged 12-13 to avoid the need for another catch-up scheme in the future.