Sending flowers to St Columcille's Hospital, Loughlinstown

St Columcille's Hospital (Ospidéal Naomh Colm Cille) is a public hospital in Loughlinstown, a suburb on the southern edge of Dublin about 14 km from the city centre on the N11. It sits in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown council area and serves patients from south Dublin and County Wicklow. The hospital is managed by the Ireland East Hospital Group and provides acute care, with 118 beds, of which 110 are inpatient acute beds and 8 are for day cases. Anyone planning to send a gift here should treat the hospital as a busy clinical building rather than a hotel: the ward decides what is welcome, and the answer can change from one unit to the next.

A hospital with a long local history

The hospital grew out of the Rathdown Union Workhouse and Infirmary, which was designed by George Wilkinson and opened in February 1841. Stables were converted to provide extra accommodation during the famine years of the 1840s, and in 1920 the workhouse infirmary was re-designated a district hospital. For many families in Loughlinstown, Shankill, Cabinteely, Bray and the Wicklow border it has been the nearest hospital for generations, so it holds memories of births, operations and long recoveries. The hospital is also home to the National Gender Service, which means that patients and visitors come from every part of Ireland, not only the south side of Dublin.

Check the ward before you send anything

Irish hospitals set their own rules, and many wards do not accept flowers at all, particularly intensive care, high-dependency, oncology and isolation rooms, where a vase of water can be a risk to a patient with a weak immune system. Because the rules on flowers are not published in one place for this hospital, the safest approach is simple: phone the main number, ask for the ward the patient is on, and ask the nurse in charge whether flowers, plants or balloons are allowed. Give the patient's full name as it appears on their records and ask for the ward name. Staff cannot confirm who is in the hospital in every case, so it often helps to ask the patient or a close relative directly.

What to send if flowers are not allowed

If the ward says no, there are good alternatives that suit the same moods. A card with a handwritten message, a book, a magazine or a puzzle book, a soft blanket or a pair of slippers can all make a stay easier. For a patient who is likely to be in for a longer time, a list of friends who will visit in turn is worth more than a one-off gift. You can still order flowers, but ask for them to be delivered to the patient's home in Loughlinstown, Dún Laoghaire, Bray or wherever they live, timed for the day they are due to return. Seeing a bouquet on the kitchen table is a lovely welcome after a hospital stay.

If the ward says yes

Ask for a small arrangement that will fit on a locker, in a container that cannot tip over. Avoid strongly scented stems such as lilies, hyacinths and freesias, which can bother other patients in a shared bay, and avoid anything with pollen that stains. Roses, carnations, gerberas, spray chrysanthemums and alstroemeria are neat and long-lasting. Ask the florist to deliver at a time when visiting is open, address the card clearly to the patient by name and add the ward, and include your own name so staff can return the card if the patient is unwell on arrival.

Visiting and arriving

Loughlinstown is on the N11 corridor, with bus routes along the road, and the hospital grounds are easy to find from the main road. Visiting hours and rules on visitor numbers are set by the hospital and can change quickly, so check with the ward on the day. If you are delivering by hand rather than ordering, bring the flowers wrapped, avoid the busiest meal and treatment times, and do not leave a bouquet at reception without agreement.

Flowers for the recovery at home

Once the patient is discharged, flowers are at their most welcome. Choose a seasonal mix that will last a week or more, and add a short note that does not demand a reply. A carer, husband or wife who has been visiting every day also deserves a bunch: a small posy for the person who has been making the trips to Loughlinstown is a gesture that often goes unmentioned. Remember that early discharge can be a surprise, so give the florist a flexible date or send to the home address the moment you hear the patient is home.

Did you know? St Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown began as the Rathdown Union Workhouse and Infirmary, which opened in February 1841 to a design by George Wilkinson.