Two Donegal women at celebration of a remarkable hospital

Two women with roots in Donegal came together in Dublin last week to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Coombe Hospital, highlighting the personal dedication and community spirit that have helped shape maternity care in Ireland.

Ann MacIntyre, Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the Coombe and a native of Letterkenny, joined Ruth Cleary, a volunteer from Creevy, Ballyshannon, at the launch of a commemorative book and the opening of an exhibition at Dublin’s Little Museum.

The exhibition charts the hospital’s journey from its foundation as the Coombe Lying-in Hospital in the Liberties in 1826 to the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital of today on Cork Street.

Ann has dedicated her career to nursing and midwifery leadership at the Coombe, helping to uphold its long tradition of caring for mothers and babies. The hospital is now one of the largest, most comprehensive providers of women and infant healthcare in Europe with the renowned Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that nurtures over 1,000 premature and complex-condition infants each year.

Ruth makes her own valuable contribution through volunteering, creating handmade quilts for incubators at the Coombe and other key maternity hospitals across Ireland. Designed for incubators caring for premature and vulnerable newborns, Ruth’s colourful quilts bring a personal touch to the highly specialised environment of neonatal care. Each represents hours of work and a heartfelt desire to make the earliest days of life a little brighter for babies and their families.

The photograph captures Ann and Ruth at the exhibition, holding a copy of The Coombe Hospital 1826–2026, by Michael O’Dowd, beside an incubator dressed with one of Ruth’s distinctive quilts.

Their meeting brings together two sides of the hospital’s enduring story: professional dedication and voluntary kindness. As the Coombe marks two centuries of caring for generations of Irish families, Ann and Ruth’s contributions are a reminder that behind every great institution are the people whose skill, generosity and compassion bring its mission to life.

From Letterkenny and Creevy to Cork Street, Dublin, their shared connection is a fitting tribute to a hospital whose legacy continues to be built through care for Ireland’s tiniest patients and their families.

The exhibition, Born in Dublin: 200 Years of The Coombe Hospital, at the Little Museum of Dublin on St. Stephen’s Green is open to the public until May 2027.