The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
A KILRUSH nursing home has celebrated a quarter of a century of providing care to Clare’s older citizens.
St Theresa’s Nursing Home opened its doors, under the direction of Seán and Nora Grogan, on June 18, 1996, with the aim of giving residents a home away from home.
Located on the Kilkee Road, St Theresa’s was designed by Séan and Nora Grogan as a purpose-built facility.
Nora’s daughter Yvonne returned to Kilrush after a number of years nursing in London, Dublin and Galway. A specialist in palliative care, Yvonne came back to work alongside her mother to ensure the family ethos continued.
Fr Pat Larkin who was curate in Kilrush in 1996 and is now Parish Priest celebrated mass for staff and residents.
In March of this year, Nora sadly passed away and, as part of the 25 year celebration mass, Fr Pat remembered the commitment and dedication of both Nora and the late Séan.
“Due to the restrictions we had a more limited invitation list with only residents and staff being able to attend the celebrations,” said Yvonne.
“We celebrated with a lovely luncheon and then Mass with Fr Pat which also allowed us to remember and pray for all those who have passed through the doors of St Theresa’s.
“We especially remembered and celebrated the lives of all the residents, their families and friends past and present. We also remembered all staff past and present who have worked so selflessly over the years and shown true professionalism in their various roles within St Theresa’s Nursing Home.”
After mass, celebrations were led by Patrick Roche, a man who provided comfort and solace during the pandemic, through his socially-distanced performances outside St Theresa’s.
“We sang and danced for hours enjoying the company, laughter and had further refreshments and cake to enhance the celebrations,” Yvonne added.
“We wish to thank all our staff, the local community businesses in Kilrush and Kilkee and further afield for their support over the past 25 years and hope it continues for a long time to come.”
A picture of Nora and Seán has now been placed at the entrance area to St Theresa’s, as a reminder of the homely environment created 25 years ago, and to show that their legacy will continue through the efforts of their family and the dedicated staff.
Fiona McGarry
Fiona McGarry joined The Clare Champion as a reporter after a four-year stint as producer of Morning Focus on Clare FM. Prior to that she worked for various radio, print and online titles, including Newstalk, Maximum Media and The Tuam Herald.
Fiona’s media career began in her native Mayo when she joined Midwest Radio. She is the maker of a number of radio documentaries, funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). She has also availed of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund to report on development issues supported by Irish Aid in Haiti.
She won a Justice Media Award for a short radio series on the work of Bedford Row Project, which supports prisoners and families in the Mid-West. Fiona also teaches on the Journalism programmes at The University of Galway.
If you have a story and would like to get in touch with Fiona you can email her at fmcgarry@clarechampion.ie or telephone 065 6864146.
