Several hundred protesters took part in a demonstration in Drogheda on Sunday, against proposals to change the name of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital [1].
Management at the facility indicated to staff last month that the name of the hospital would be changed.
Protesters vociferously objected to references to Our Lady being removed from the name of the hospital, which was founded in the 1950s by Mother Mary Martin and the Medical Missionaries of Mary.
One protestor told reporters the hospital is synonymous with Mother Mary and while he himself was not religious, he said changing the name was “ridiculous”. Others underlined that it was a matter of identity rather than religion.
Another participant in the protest said that rebranding the hospital would be costly and unnecessary and makes little sense when the HSE is refusing to fund necessary medical additions to the Hospital such as a second x-ray room.