President Michael D Higgins wrote to St Mary's Hospital, his "neighbour" in the Phoenix Park, to express sympathies at the deaths of residents at the height of a Covid-19 outbreak last spring.

The HSE-run nursing home close to Áras an Uachtaráin lost 24 residents to coronavirus in one of the worst outbreaks to affect a facility for older people during the first wave of the pandemic.

In a newly released letter that was addressed to the staff and residents at the nursing home, Mr Higgins said he and his wife, Sabina, wanted to express their sadness “on hearing of the life losses at St Mary’s Hospital, our neighbour, and convey our support for you”.

Hospital Report

The letter was sent shortly after news reports appeared detailing the number of Covid-19 fatalities at the home.

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The President said he and his wife offered their “heartfelt sympathies to all the family and friends of those who have passed away in St Mary’s Hospital in the throes of this terrible virus, which is impacting so cruelly on older citizens”.

“It is a time of great sadness and mourning across our community and country, as we come to terms with the losses that we have endured, since this deadly virus erupted, and the necessary limitations on our need to grieve for loved ones,” the President wrote.

“As a nation, exposed to our vulnerabilities in such a cruel way, it is the support and solidarity that we show each other that will get us through this, together.”

The President expressed his “profound gratitude” to all staff at St Mary’s “who have been working tirelessly and selflessly to support the vulnerable people in their care, at a very difficult time for all”.

During elections, the hospital is used as a polling station and is where the President casts his vote.

Reference to the letter emerged in internal HSE minutes of meetings that have been released under the Freedom of Information Act. The President’s office later released the text of the letter after a request from The Irish Times.

Vulnerability

Nursing homes have been at the front line of the coronavirus pandemic, accounting for more than half of over 2,000 deaths from the disease. Older people are more vulnerable to the virus.

In May, Mr Higgins, in an appearance on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show, paid tribute to frontline and essential workers, and to work and home carers whom, he said, were not paid enough.

“We should come out of the Covid having completely re-thought out the importance of caring,” he said.

At the age of 79, Mr Higgins said he adhered to HSE guidelines during the pandemic but criticised the language around cocooning guidelines for older people, saying the word could be infantilising.