LauraLynn House is officially opened by President McAleese

Lauralynn House, Ireland's first Children's Hospice, was officially opened this week by President Mary McAleese, only two years after the official launch of its construction.

It is the culmination of a long road for Jane McKenna (seen here with patron Miriam O'Callaghan, President McAleese and Philomena Dunne, CEO of the Children’s Sunshine Home) and her husband Brendan, who set up the LauraLynn Hospice Foundation following the tragic deaths of their daughters Lynn and Laura within two years of each other.

Their tireless work along with that of hundreds of fundraisers, have succeeded in creating this much needed facility in Ireland where it is estimated that around 350 children die each year from life-limiting or threatening conditions.

This state of the art building in the grounds of The Children's Sunshine Home, who will also manage it, was built and fitted out at a cost of €5.5m. It was financed solely through fundraising and donations, without any government or state assistance.

It is designed as Jane and Brendan had hoped, to be a home away from home for sick and terminally ill children and their families. With its wonderful use of natural light, it succeeds in creating an atmosphere much more like a house than a hospital.

Lauralynn house has eight en-suite bedrooms where medical equipment is kept out of view and only brought out when needed. It also has four family rooms, a quiet room, music and games rooms, a beautiful garden and a playground. The feeling of contentment and peace exuded is such that it is only when you visit the butterfly suite where a child and their family will reach the end of their journey together, that you realize just how superbly Lauralynn House has been conceived.

President McAleese said that "This is a day of triumph ... a day when we take the words happy and sad and merge them into that amazing mix of feelings for which there really isn't a word," and she paid tribute to Jane and Brendan who from the depths of their own tragedy reached out "...to other families to try and put together a place and a space so that other families would know a joy, would know a support."

This has been a remarkable achievement for Brendan and Jane. As Jane said “It is wonderful to see this dream come to fruition, and our huge thanks to so many amazing people, giving of their time and generosity, throughout the years.

"Laura and Lynn will be very happy that something so joyful has come, as a result of their short lives and our sad loss.”

The Sunshine Home are in discussions with the HSE to try to secure funding for the future, however donations will still play a huge part in the day to day running of Lauralynn House.

You can find out more about Lauralynn House here.