About Healing and Remembrance Space
Ennis Road Care Facility’s newly established ‘Healing and Remembrance Space’ opened in November 2024. Dedicated to the remembrance of lost loved ones, it features a mural designed and created in collaboration with residents, sharing their themes of loss, death, grief and hope. This dedicated space for reminiscence and mindfulness is available to the whole nursing home community and will also regularly feature therapeutic creative workshops.
Workshops: Encouraging Conversations on Dying, Death, Grief and Loss in Nursing Homes
This project was conceived and designed by local artist and Assistant Lecturer at the Limerick School of Art and Design, Dr Lisa Hester, who has dedicated her career to exploring art’s potential for therapeutic community building. Between July and November 2024, Lisa hosted a series of workshops aimed at encouraging creative confidence, deepening relationships, and facilitating safe conversations among residents. Activities included LEGO building, collage making, poetry writing, and storytelling, while exploring cultural rituals surrounding loss and personal views of the afterlife. Workshops were enthusiastically attended by staff and relatives, including grandchildren.
Creating a Mural and Memory Tree
Insights from these sessions informed Lisa’s design for transforming the underused prayer room into a therapeutic area. The focal point is a beautiful mural incorporating symbols and imagery from the workshops. As Lisa told us:
"The workshops were a vital part of our approach, giving residents a voice and ownership in the creation of the mural that reflects their unique memories and experiences of loss. They also encouraged deeper connections and trust that led to meaningful conversations around loss, as well providing a tangible outlet for expressing grief and remembering loved ones.”
Some parts of the mural were designed by Lisa based on conversations during the workshops; others were designed and painted by residents.
Alongside the mural, there is a memory tree where residents, staff, and visitors can leave notes or mementos, fostering connection with those who have died. This is an approach that ensures the mural reflects shared thoughts and experiences that will resonate with others. As Ennis Road Care Facility’s Activities Coordinator Lisa Moloney told us:
"The mural and memory tree are much more than a decorative pieces. They’re key points for reflection that honour the lives, stories, and emotions of our residents.”
Exhibition and Remembrance Mass
The project concluded in early November with an exhibition and Remembrance Mass attended by the whole community. The enthusiasm and positive response from facilitators and attendees of the workshops captured in the video at the top of this page reflects the powerful role access to creativity can have on people’s lives.
You can also listen to Lisa discussing this project in-depth with Pat Foley of Limerick Community Radio.
Supporting Care and Compassion at End of Life
These workshops were conducted in conjunction with Caru, a continuous learning programme for care and compassion at end of life in nursing homes.
Irish Hospice Foundation’s Arts and Cultural Manager Dominic Campbell reflects:
“Research resulting from surveys such as Irish Hospice Foundation’s Time to Reflect Report and Dying Well at Home Report, along with the National End of Life Survey, show appropriate conversations about dying and loss in all its forms and support the personalising of care in residential care settings.
"This project is a prime example of how creative approaches, or the use of the arts or cultural tools, can help address any of the multiple griefs and losses connected with residential care and associated bereavements faced by residents, beloveds, or staff.”
Regular Arts Workshops at Ennis Road Care Facility
Ennis Road Care Facility will continue to offer regular art workshops and creative sessions in this space, using the mural as a source of inspiration and a reminder of the importance of creative expression in dealing with dying, death, grief, and loss.
Background
In conjunction with Caru (a continuous learning programme for care and compassion at end of life in nursing homes), Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) awarded Seed Grants to six projects around Ireland to focus on creative exploration and responses to grief and loss in nursing homes.
These projects are aligned with Caru’s ambition for quality improvement in the culture of care. The focus is on the whole nursing home community — residents, staff, owners, relatives, kinship groups, and friends. These projects are being documented and evaluated throughout to demonstrate how creative work can mitigate the impact of the myriad of griefs and losses associated with nursing homes. These range from loss of home, pets, relatives, possessions, privacy, independence, friends (both old and new), to planning one’s own end of life, and everything in between. And for staff – enduing the inevitable loss of residents. Learn more about our 2024 Seed Grant Projects on Arts in Residential Care.
About Caru
Caru is an initiative of Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) in partnership with All Ireland Institute of Hospice & Palliative Care (AIIHPC) and the Health Services Executive (HSE). Learn more at Caru.ie.
About Ennis Road Care Facility
Ennis Road Care Facility is based at the site of the former Two Mile Inn Hotel on the Ennis Road. This state-of-the-art facility can accommodate up to 84 residents and provides a wide range of specialist services. These mirror services provided in their sister care facility Beech Lodge Care Facility, Bruree, Co Limerick. Learn more about Ennis Road Care Facility.
About the Artist: Dr Lisa Hester
Lisa Hester (PhD, BFA) is a graduate of the Limerick School of Art and Design specialising in creative arts facilitation, alongside her academic work. She employs techniques such as painting and brick-building to actively engage with special needs groups, care home residents, and school communities.
