It was with great pleasure that St Francis Hospice welcomed President Mary McAleese to celebrate its 20th anniversary and to deliver the annual Dr. Mary Redmond Foundation Day lecture on the 12th February 2009.

Prior to the delivery of the foundation day lecture, the president took time to meet with patients, families and staff of St. Anne’s in-patient unit, who were delighted by the warmth and exuberance of the president.

The 150-strong audience listened intently to the Foundation Day lecture presented by President Mary McAleese. The lecture echoed the president’s deep and compassionate understanding of the dying process and the history and work of the hospice movement. 

The president referred to the current period of economic turmoil and said that “with so much focus on how governments and insitutions are responding to crises, it might also be easy to forget the phenomenal power we as individuals and as community bring to bear on life, a power for good and a power for change”. She said that the hospice movement “is about helping people to live well, even with the most distressing illnesses, helping them cope, helping their families cope. It s about living well and comfortably right to the end.”

President McAleese concluded by wishing all involved in St. Francis a happy celebration of their 20th anniversary in 2009.