Five years ago, when the new Marymount University Hospital and Hospice in Cork was being built on its new site at Curraheen, County Cork, Bishop Paul Colton asked the directors of Saint Luke’s Home in Cork to donate €1 million to the project, and they readily agreed.  The final instalment of that promised €1 million gift was paid recently. Bishop Colton, chairperson of Saint Luke’s, was invited by the chairperson of Marymount, Professor Cillian Twomey, to visit the Saint Luke’s Home Day Care Unit at the Hospice which was built using the gift from Saint Luke’s.  Also present were the CEOs of the two charities:  Mr David O’Brien, CEO, Saint Luke’s and Mr Dan Philpott, CEO, Marymount.

On behalf of St Luke’s Home, Cork, Dr Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork (right) presents the final instalment of a €1 million donation to Marymount University Hospital and Hospice, Cork to the Marymount Chairman, Professor Cillian Twomey. Photo: Provision

Bishop Colton, who chairs Saint Luke’s Boards, but is also one of the Patrons of the Friends of Marymount, said:

These two charities  – one Roman Catholic, and the other Protestant – were founded in the same era, Marymount in 1870 and Saint Luke’s in 1872.  For many years they worked alongside each other on opposite sides of the street at Military Hill in Cork.  This gift, I believe, is a significant symbol of a new era, established over recent decades, of ecumenical cooperation and practical partnership in healthcare expertise between our two caring institutions which nowadays care for everyone regardless of background or faith perspective.  Between the two, we give work to 510 people in the Cork region (300 work at Marymount and 280 work at Saint Luke’s).  Last time I visited this part of Marymount it was a building site.  Today it is wonderful to see the Saint Luke’s Day Care Unit up and running: a sign of our work together as two leading charities here in Cork and the wider region.

Visiting the St Luke’s Day Care Unit at Marymount University Hospital and Hospice recently were (l-r): David O’Brien (CEO, St Luke’s), Professor Cillian Twomey (Chairman of the Board, Marymount), Dr Paul Colton (Chairman of the Board, St Luke’s) and Dan Philpott (CEO, Marymount). Photo: Provision