A Mother's Campaign For Compassion In Irish Healthcare
The Big Story
Monday, 21 September 2026 - 12 minutes
Roisin Molloy’s son Mark died just 22 minutes after he was born at Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise in 2012.
An inquest later found that he died by medical misadventure after staff failed to respond to signs of foetal distress. Roisin says the way her family was treated in the aftermath compounded an already devastating experience.
Her story has come back into focus amid a wider conversation about compassion and dignity in Irish hospitals, following journalist Emer O’Kelly’s account of her experience as a patient at St James’s Hospital.
Roisin has since established Compassion Pathways, providing training around compassion in healthcare and arguing that compassion is not simply about kindness or empathy it should lead to action.
Roisin speaks about baby Mark, her family’s experience and why she believes compassion can be taught, measured and made a fundamental part of healthcare.
