Fr John Kelly, Director of Pastoral Care at Tallaght University Hospital with Richard Bierney, husband of the late Eithne who died during the pandemic, at the unveiling of the Covid-19 ‘Heart Memorial’. A permanent memorial honouring those who died during the pandemic, grieving families, hospital staff and the community has been unveiled in Tallaght University Hospital.
Fr John Kelly, Director of Pastoral Care at the hospital said of the ‘Heart Memorial’: “There’s a lot of people who just want to forget what has happened over the last year and half but we can’t forget the sacrifices that were made, the lives that were lost and the contribution of so many people, the healthcare staff here and the response from the local community which was always very positive.
“It’s a place for people to come for healing and for some remembrance of the patients that we cared for during that time.”
The memorial is located in the garden adjacent to the hospital chapel and pastoral care department. The piece is based on an initiative by the pastoral care team called ‘identical hearts’.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and continuously since then, healthcare chaplains in TUH incorporated the practice of placing a handcrafted heart in the hand of a dying or deceased patient while an identical heart is given to the next of kin/family member (when present) or if not forwarded to them by post. These identical hearts are handcrafted by hospital staff and also sent in by members of the public.