Real People.
Real Impact.
Donations to St. Vincent's Healthcare Foundation fund patient care, research and education at St. Vincent's University Hospital, St. Michael's Hospital and St. Vincent's Private Hospital. Behind every gift is a person whose care, recovery or research was made possible by people like you who support us every day.
Here we share stories of how your support helps…
Transforming Cancer Diagnostics
When Val Marren lost his wife Kay, a microbiologist who spent her career in the lab, he and his family chose to honour her memory in a way that felt true to who she was: by supporting St. Vincent's University Hospital's molecular pathology laboratory.
Thanks to their gift, the hospital's lab can now analyse more than 500 genes simultaneously from a single biopsy sample — up from just 5 to 10 genes before. That capability now delivers complex diagnostic results for up to 40 cancer patients every week.
“Kay, who was a microbiologist, was always happy when she was in the lab, so she and I decided to donate to St. Vincent's University molecular pathology laboratory. The team there do excellent work and we wanted to support a part of the hospital that isn't always seen, but the difference they make for patients and their families is extraordinary.” — Val Marren
“Thanks to this incredibly generous donation, St. Vincent's University Hospital is now home to a world-class precision diagnostics service.” — Dr Adrian Marino, Associate Professor of Pathology.
Val Marren and family presenting a portrait of the late Kathleen (Kay) Marren to Prof Ray McDermott, Dr Adrian Marino and their teams.
A Lasting Legacy in Education: The Enda McDermott Simulation & Education Centre
In 2025, the Enda McDermott Simulation & Education Centre (EMSEC) opened its doors — a state-of-the-art training facility made possible by the family of the late Mr Enda McDermott, an outstanding consultant surgeon and educator at St. Vincent's University Hospital for many years.
EMSEC is where learning meets innovation, giving hospital staff the space and tools to build the skills that translate directly into safer, better care for every patient who comes through the hospital's doors.
“Enda was a man of immense integrity, quiet strength and deep compassion. He dedicated his life to his patients and to supporting the next generation of clinicians. As a family, we wanted to honour not only the care he gave, but the values he stood for — excellence, humility and service.” — Norbert McDermott, Enda's brother.
Stories like Kay’s and Enda's start with a donation.
L–R: Norbert McDermott, Emma McDermott, Dr John Cronin (Clinical Lead for EMSEC), and Professor Helen Heneghan (Consultant Bariatric and General Surgeon) pictured cutting the ribbon to officially open the Enda McDermott Simulation & Education Centre (EMSEC) at St. Vincent’s University Hospital.
Recent Projects Your Support Has Funded
Crafting For Care
We are very pleased to support St. Vincent’s University Hospital Craft Group, a group of hospital staff that get together in their own time to produce blankets and keepsakes for patients in ICU and those at End-of-Life. Their beautiful creations help to bring a little comfort and homeliness at these difficult times and are appreciated by patients and families alike.
Every blanket is unique and is hand-knitted or crocheted, showing real talent from the group members. Hearts are created in-house too, or are donated by others who wish them to be passed on to families and children saying a final farewell to a loved one.
This is a touching example of how your funds make a difference for patients and families within our hospitals.
Thank you so much for making this possible.
Medical Software
State-of-the-art Medical (Dosimetry) Software for our St. Vincent’s Hospital Medical Physicist Team
Thanks to you, our donors, St. Vincent’s Foundation has played a major role in the introduction of new dosimetry software within St. Vincent’s University Hospital’s Molecular Imaging and Theranostics Centre in Radiology. This upgrade for our professional team means they can now determine complex doses to organs and tumours for personalised cancer treatments faster and with greater accuracy than ever before. The software is the first of its kind in use in Ireland for Radioligand treatments (Radioligand Therapy is used instead of chemotherapy for advanced cancers). The team carrying out these treatments to slow or stop tumour growth, can now monitor radiation doses delivered during these types of treatments to minimise damage to healthy organs.
Up until now, dose calculations have been extremely labour-intensive and slow. Having new, faster software will change how the team work for patients, particularly those who have undergone other radiation treatments.
They, and we, are extremely grateful to our donors who have made this massive improvement possible.
Class Act
We are proud to support professional training and education of the dedicated nursing staff within our hospitals. Across the academic year of 2025/2026 we granted a wonderful €75,000 so that nurses could study towards Advanced Nursing Practice qualifications and continuous professional development.
This helps hospital staff retention and gives nurses the opportunities to move into leadership, research and management roles - and more. On top of that, we know that more qualified, experienced staff continue to benefit the patients in their care.
Our pictures show Ann Flynn, Director of Nursing with some of the staff at St. Vincent's University Hospital who successfully juggled work and study to pass their courses with flying colours.
Well done all and thanks to you, our donors, who make this possible.
“We are very grateful for this donation from St Vincent’s Foundation. Having the advanced dosimetry software will make a huge difference to how we perform our jobs. This sophisticated dosimetry software will enable us to measure radiation doses that patients receive much more efficiently and with a higher accuracy. The advanced functions it provides will also permit further improvement of the service”
Dr Mathilde Colombié, Consultant Nuclear Medicine Physician
Help Us Write The Next Story
Every project, grant and breakthrough on this page started with a gift from someone like you. Your donation helps St. Vincent's Healthcare Foundation keep funding the care, equipment and research our patients and hospitals rely on.