Businessman and philanthropist Eric Kinsella and his wife Barbara have pledged a life-changing €2 million gift to the Mater Hospital Foundation to enhance and expand the Mater Public Hospital’s Coronary Care Unit (CCU).
Mr Kinsella is founder of Esprit Investments, one of Ireland’s most active private investment and development companies.
The development of the Mater’s existing CCU, which is currently a 12-bed unit, will increase capacity, provide expert cardiac care, minimise infection control risks, and offer spacious, modern rooms for patients and their families.
As part of this commitment to enhancing cardiac care, the Coronary Care Unit will include the prestigious Kinsella Cardiology Recovery Suite, designed to set a new standard for patient recovery at the Mater.
This state-of-the-art facility will feature a five-bedded recovery unit and a thoughtfully-designed Family Room, ensuring comfort and care for both patients and their loved ones. A dedicated link corridor will seamlessly connect the CATH Labs to the recovery suite, revolutionising the patient journey. Remarkably, this marks a historic first for the Mater — establishing a specialised recovery area exclusively for cardiology patients.
The additional capacity, alongside the quality improvements of isolation rooms and a designated private family space, will move the whole continuum of care – particularly for emergency cardiac care – into a whole new realm.
For Eric and Barbara Kinsella, this gift was encouraged by their own connection to the Mater and a profound appreciation for the hospital’s life-saving work.
“Barbara and I feel privileged to give back to the Mater Hospital, a place that holds deep personal significance for us. Having experienced first-hand the exceptional care provided by Prof. Jim O’Neill and his team, we hope this gift will improve patient outcomes and support the dedicated medical teams who work tirelessly to save lives every day,” said Mr. Kinsella.
Mary Moorhead, Chief Executive of the Mater Hospital Foundation, expressed her heartfelt gratitude, saying, “Philanthropy has the power to drive real change in healthcare, and we are deeply grateful to Eric and Barbara Kinsella for their extraordinary generosity. Their transformational gift marks the largest single contribution the Foundation has ever received in its history. It will significantly enhance patient care and recovery, support our dedicated cardiac teams, and leave a lasting legacy of hope and healing for generations to come.”
This ambitious project, made possible through HSE funding and Eric and Barbara Kinsella’s generous philanthropic support, signifies a major step forward in ensuring continued access to world-class cardiology care for all Mater heart patients who need it. It is expected this new Unit will be open toward the end of 2026.