President Mary McAleese today paid tribute to the staff at Dublin Mater’s hospital at an event to mark the launch of its 150th anniversary celebrations.
Mrs McAleese said the Catholic teaching hospital, which is part owned and operated by the Sisters of Mercy order, was a byword for a particular kind of healthcare excellence which was underpinned by a “clear charism”.
She told staff the hospital's foundations were not the bricks and mortar of the building but the enduring values of love and compassion for “suffering humanity”.
“The hospital is the very embodiment of all that is good, selfless, decent and kind about Ireland,” she said.
“This simple site made its own history of care no matter what the times, tides, economic fortunes or misfortunes. It has always kept its focus on the thing that does not change, the need the sick have for help.”
The hospital is planning a series of events later this year, including a street party at its Eccles Street location in June, to mark the anniversary.
Cardiac surgery in the Republic was pioneered in the Mater during the 1950's where the first successful heart operation was performed.
This led to the formation of the National Cardiac Surgery Unit in the 197Os which provided open heart surgery for patients in the State.
Renowned heart surgeon and Irish Times columnist Maurice Neligan, who died last year, performed the first coronary bypass graft at the unit in 1975. The Republic's first heart transplant operation was carried out at the hospital in 1985.
Construction of the new national children's hospital, which will merge the three children's hospitals - Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght - on the Eccles Street campus, is due to start later this year, and to be completed by 2015.