IT HAS BEEN six years in the making, and now Wicklow has good news about its own hospice.

Wicklow Hospice Foundation said today that its 15-bed facility at Magheramore received the green light from Wicklow County council.

It hopes to have the hospice open for the first patients in 2017. In June of last year, it was announced that the foundation has exceeded its €3m fundraising target, enabling it to apply for planning permission.

The site for the hospice was donated by the Columban Sisters. The patron for the hospice is Daniel Day Lewis.

The foundation was helped in reaching its fundraising target by the American Ireland Fund.

Dr Brendan Cuddihy, chairman of the Wicklow Hospice Foundation said:

This week six years ago, the Wicklow Hospice Foundation was first set up with the aim of building a much-needed Hospice facility for Wicklow. We are thrilled that all the hard work is now about to pay off. We are indebted to our many supporters, big and small.

He added: “The people of Wicklow made this happen – they put their hearts and souls into this Magheramore Hospice facility as too many of them had seen close family die in far away acute hospitals and denied access to inpatient specialist hospice care in their own community.”

Of the Magheramore site, Cuddihy said that it “is bounded by mature trees, surrounded by wildlife and bird song”.

What greater gift could you give to those you love the most as they approach life’s end.

The American Ireland Fund expressed their delight at today’s news. Their CEO Kieran McLoughlin said that this project “demonstrates the power of philanthropy supporting a public health objective”.

The generosity of donors here and in the US has been instrumental and will continue to be so in building the Hospice facility.

Read: ‘We don’t just want to build a hospice in Wicklow – it has to be the most beautiful place’>