Children’s Health (Ospidéal Náisiúnta Kathleen Lynn do Leanaí) (Amendment) Bill 2025: First Stage

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Children’s Health Act 2018 and therefore to amend the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (Establishment) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 246 of 2007) so as to direct that the National Children’s Hospital be named Ospidéal Náisiúnta Kathleen Lynn do Leanaí.

Today 109 years ago, the 1916 Rising was coming to an end. Among those incarcerated was the only female commandant of the republican forces, the chief medical officer of the Irish Citizen Army, a pioneering medic and a suffragette. Dr. Kathleen Lynn was from Mullafarry outside Killala, County Mayo. Her father was a Church of Ireland cleric and her mother Catherine Wynne was from Sligo.

I am introducing a Bill to take the simple step Ministers for Health have failed to take since I first proposed this to the then Minister, James Reilly, back in 2013. The Bill aims to officially name the new children's hospital in honour of the trailblazer that was Kathleen Lynn. She was not just a revolutionary soldier but a founder of Ireland's first children's hospital, Teach Naomh Ultáin. She was a pioneer in the then male-dominated medical profession and helped eradicate TB in Ireland with the roll-out of the BCG vaccine during her long medical career. She died aged 81 in 1955. Kathleen was a city councillor for Rathmines from 1920 to 1930 and an anti-Treaty TD from 1923 to 1927. She learned of her election in that case from the milkman.

Tá tacaíocht don ainmniúchán seo, Ospidéal Náisiúnta Kathleen Lynn do Leanaí, 70 bliain tar éis a báis, tagtha thar na blianta ó réimse leathan. Shínigh na mílte duine achainí poiblí, ritheadh dhá rún sa Seanad, bhí litir ón Seanadóir Victor Boyhan sa The Irish Times an tseachtain seo caite agus tharla a lán rudaí eile ó na páirtithe uilig. Thug an Taoiseach agus an tAire focail thacaíochta nuair a bhí siad ag freagairt ceisteanna uaim thar na blianta. Tá súil agam go mbeidh siad in ann é seo a rith.

Deputy Máire Devine

I have been involved in this children's hospital saga since its conception in 2015. I have witnessed much of St. James's Hospital, also known as the South Dublin Union, giving way to development. Gone are the 16 weeping willows planted in 1966 and it was disappointing not to see the flag hoisted this weekend. The children's hospital illuminates my street and the surrounds of Rialto and Kilmainham. It has been a ten-year plus endurance test for the community. Kathleen Lynn, a suffragette, revolutionary, medic and an innovator for children, is a perfect match, so cad í an fhadhb? Councils throughout the Twenty-six Counties have had similar motions to this passed and a plethora of historians agree, as does public sentiment. It is what will tie our yesterdays, our todays and our tomorrows together. It will keep the promising flame of this Republic lit for the next generation.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

As a Mayo TD, I wholeheartedly endorse naming the new children's hospital "Ospidéal Náisiúnta Kathleen Lynn do Leanaí". Imagine what it took for a woman to become a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons back in 1909. Kathleen Lynn was a republican, a pioneer, a feminist and, above all, a Mayo woman and a Killala woman. She is a huge personal inspiration to me and many others. Dr. Lynn was a member of the executive committee of the Irish Women’s Suffrage and Local Government Association in 1903. She assisted in soup kitchens during the 1913 Lockout, taught first aid to Cumann na mBan and served as chief medical officer of the Irish Citizen Army during the 1916 Rising. During the Rising, Dr. Lynn was the only woman to serve at the rank of commandant. She refused to be broken by her incarceration and her deportation after the Rising and in 1919 she and a number of other female medics founded a children's hospital-----

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy. I call Deputy Cullinane.

Deputy David Cullinane

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I am delighted too to be introducing this Bill with my colleagues in honour of one of Ireland's unsung patriots. The purpose of the Bill is to name the new children's hospital "Ospidéal Náisiúnta Kathleen Lynn do Leanaí". Dr. Lynn was a phenomenal person and a progressive patriot who dedicated her life to the betterment of the lives of Irish people, in particular women and children. She was a founder of Ireland's first children's hospital, Teach Naomh Ultáin, which was established in 1919. This was inspired by her work with poverty-stricken communities in inner city Dublin who were suffering from severe neglect. Dr. Lynn was chief medical officer of the Irish Citizen Army during the 1916 Easter Rising. She went on to become a TD for Dublin in 1923 and served as vice president of Sinn Féin until 1927. The new hospital needs a new name and I could not think of a more fitting tribute and person to name it after. I ask the Government to consider that.

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 29 Apr 2025