The three bears sculpture was recently unveiled at Tallaght Hospital by Minister Katherine Zappone. The local T.D. commented at the unveiling “It is an honour to be here to welcome the three bears to their new home! Following the generous donation of the bears by the Crosbie family I was determined that they would be placed in a location where they would be accessible to children. The bears, the work of sculptor Patrick O’Reilly, have been a familiar sight in Dublin for over twenty-years.”
Originally bringing a smile to both concert goers and passing motorists at the Point Depot, before being retired into storage, they have now settled into this, the most appropriate of homes Tallaght Hospital.
Zappone added “It is my hope that they will bring cheer and enjoyment to young patients and visitors alike for at least another two-decades and beyond. The bears have brothers of course, in Greystones and down in Adare where they are well established local landmarks. All three locations are now linked by sharing these most unique and beautiful sculptures. When I see them it reminds me of childhood, those special years of joy, play and learning. It is my hope that children facing health challenges or coming here to recover will share that joy. I want to thank Lucy Nugent and all the team at Tallaght University Hospital for wholeheartedly getting behind this project. It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication to bring us to this moment. It would not have been possible to bring the bears here without the support of everyone at Tallaght University Hospital.”
The arrival of the bears is not only an opportunity to celebrate remarkable art work which will be part of the community for a long time to come, but also to reflect on the important role the hospital plays in serving local people of all ages, often as they go through a difficult time.
The Dublin South West election candidate concluded “We must never take our local hospital for granted – neither must we take the dedication and the skills of all who work here to help patients and their families through illness and injury. It is a tribute to the hard-working teams across this teaching hospital that it is able to handle and care for 420,000 patient attendances a year with one of the busiest Emergency Departments The patients are drawn from a catchment area served by some 200 GPs Truly remarkable figures. As an outgoing Independent Minister representing those communities which make up a huge part of that catchment area can I put on record my words of thanks. When I received your kind invite to join you on this occassion I wanted to come and say that – no matter what was happening politically! But it is not about politics, there will be enough of that in the coming days, is it is about celebrating and wishing the thee bears many happy years in their new home, where they will be able to brighten the days of tens of thousands of children. Inspire and encourage the dedicated professionals who work here and spreading some joy to all who see them. With that let me declare the Three Bears are home! Their new home at Tallaght University Hospital.”
