The Beginning
In 1948, former RAF Group Captain and Victoria Cross recipient Leonard Cheshire took a dying man into his home in ‘Le Court’, Hampshire, England, to support and care for him. Within 18 months, ‘Le Court’ had 28 residents with illnesses and disabilities and had become the first ‘Cheshire Home’. Today there are ‘Cheshire Homes’ around the world in over 50 countries supporting both adults and children.
In 1961 Leonard Cheshire set up Ireland’s first Cheshire service in Shillelagh, Co. Wicklow, supported by volunteers, and since then further services have developed around the country.
Initially, these services were supported by local voluntary management committees who oversaw the running of the services and who fundraised locally.
Over time, the Health and Social Care environment in Ireland changed with an increased requirement for governance and oversight. To reflect this Cheshire Ireland developed a consistent approach to the work of the organisation, while ensuring the ethos of Leonard Cheshire’s approach remains relevant.
Continuous Growth
Cheshire Ireland continued to grow and in the mid-90’s developed centres consisting of self-contained apartments in Letterkenny Co. Donegal, Sligo, Blackrock Co. Dublin and Killarney Co. Kerry.
Towards the end of the 90’s Cheshire started its first Community support service in North County Dublin and this quickly spread to providing Community Services in South County Dublin and Cork City.
In 2003 President McAleese officially opened Waterford Cheshire, this was followed by the opening of Dundalk Cheshire and services in Greystones, Co. Wicklow.
The opening of Dun Laoghaire Cheshire in Co. Dublin was next and in 2008 Newbridge Respite Centre opened its doors to provide respite to individuals in the area.
Cheshire Ireland Today
Over the past 20 years, Cheshire Ireland has developed and built services all over Ireland. The focus for all services is to work closely with people to support them to live as independently as possible, to make informed choices, take risks and to connect with the local community in real life opportunities.
The organisation’s main funder is the HSE (Health Service Executive). We are also grateful to those who donate or leave a bequest to the organisation, as this supports the work to continue.
Cheshire Ireland has been at the forefront of working to decongregate residential services. To date 3 residential services have been closed and people have had the opportunity to move to their own homes in the local community while being supported by Cheshire Ireland or another service of their choice.
Decongregation remains a goal of the organisation, however, we recognise that people have choice and our values will continue to inform us as to how we support people, and ensure people are at the heart of everything we do.
The changing regulatory environment for organisations like Cheshire Ireland has demanded that we review how we govern and provide services. It has been a challenging time since the introduction of Regulations. However, as an organisation, Cheshire Ireland has risen to the challenge and made the necessary changes in governance and will continue to improve service delivery aiming for excellence in all we do.
