Landmark Sunflower Children’s Hospice a step closer with planning application

Today, Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation has announced the submission of its planning application for the landmark Sunflower Children’s Hospice.

This children's hospice in Castlebar, Mayo, 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. 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 fifteen 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.

Planned facilities include:

● A hydrotherapy pool

● Eight en-suite bedrooms with private garden or patio access

● Four family accommodation suites

● Sensory rooms and sensory gardens

● Dedicated children and young adult spaces

● Teaching and education facilities

● 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.

A 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.

Speaking on the planning, Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll McNeill extended her acknowledgement, and thanks to Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, the wider community, volunteers, the HSE, and the dedicated clinicians whose efforts she said 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," she said.

Martina Jennings, CEO of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, stated that today is a huge step in the development of the Sunflower Children's Hospice.

“We are very proud of the final design, which has been directly informed by families, children, service 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,” she said.

She further stated that the support from HSE West and North West, the Department of Health, and the Minister for Health ‘has been incredible’.

“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,” she added.

Paul Foxe, Chair of the Board of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, also extended his thanks to those behind the project.

“I would like to 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-efficient way,” he said

For over 30 years, Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation has been providing palliative care services to people with life-limiting illnesses and their families in Mayo and Roscommon. The Palliative Care Teams have supported more than 25,000 patients and their families to date.