Some treasured artworks are on the move to the new children’s hospital

Back in 2021, a group of CHI staff came together to decide which artworks and other nice things should be brought forward from the original CHI hospitals to the new hospital. This project is called ‘Treasure Chest’ and gets its name from the trove of wonderful objects and artworks that can be found in the three original children’s hospitals in Dublin. The selection process was not always easy. Some much-loved works had to be left behind and the staff had to consider not only what pieces were most meaningful to them, but also what would work in our new state-of-the art hospital. Former CHI staff member, Eilís Murphy, brilliantly describes her reasons for getting involved in the project.

Patients, families and staff who enter the new hospital once it opens should not therefore be surprised to see Starlight, the wooden rocking horse that has lived for many years in the playroom of Tallaght Hospital, nestling into a corner of the building. Perhaps patients and families will uncover all the letters of the Temple Street Alphabet on the wall of the new hospital or discover the intriguing X-rays of Buzz Lightyear and his Toy Story friends that have long fascinated children and young people in Crumlin.

We hope that their move to the new hospital, along with other pieces in our Treasure Chest, will not only spark the imagination of children and young people attending the new hospital, but that they will offer something comforting and familiar to the staff in the big change ahead.