8 June 2026
By Valerie Ryan
valerie@TheCork.ie
North Cork News
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (a Dún Laoghaire TD), today officially opened an extension at Mallow General Hospital, which includes 24 beds which recently came into use. This will significantly increase inpatient hospital capacity in the HSE South West region.
FREE PIC – NO REPRO FEE – June 8, 2026
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, met with patient Kathleen Kavanagh from Charleville with visiting the hospital.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD officially opened an extension at Mallow General Hospital, which includes 24 beds which recently came into use. This will significantly increase inpatient hospital capacity in the HSE South West region. This brings the hospital’s total bed capacity from 71 to 95 beds.
The expansion will play a critical role in providing care for the people of North Cork, closer to home. It also enhances flow from the hospitals in Cork and Kerry by accommodating patients to continue their care in Mallow General Hospital.
Pic: Brian Lougheed
FREE PIC – NO REPRO FEE – June 8, 2026
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, met with patient Kathleen Kavanagh from Charleville with visiting the hospital.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD officially opened an extension at Mallow General Hospital, which includes 24 beds which recently came into use. This will significantly increase inpatient hospital capacity in the HSE South West region. This brings the hospital’s total bed capacity from 71 to 95 beds.
The expansion will play a critical role in providing care for the people of North Cork, closer to home. It also enhances flow from the hospitals in Cork and Kerry by accommodating patients to continue their care in Mallow General Hospital.
Pic: Brian Lougheed
FREE PIC – NO REPRO FEE – June 8, 2026
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD officially opened an extension at Mallow General Hospital, which includes 24 beds which recently came into use. This will significantly increase inpatient hospital capacity in the HSE South West region. This brings the hospital’s total bed capacity from 71 to 95 beds.
The expansion will play a critical role in providing care for the people of North Cork, closer to home. It also enhances flow from the hospitals in Cork and Kerry by accommodating patients to continue their care in Mallow General Hospital.
Included are, from left: Dr Andy Phillips, REO of HSE South West; Claire Crowley, Hospital Manager; Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD; Sonya Cotter, Healthcarre Area Manager; Patricia Moloney, Director of Nursing and Dr. Anne Marie O’Flynn, Consultant Cardiologist.
Pic: Brian Lougheed
This brings the hospital’s total bed capacity from 71 to 95 beds. The expansion will play a critical role in providing care for the people of North Cork, closer to home. It also enhances flow from the hospitals in Cork and Kerry by accommodating patients to continue their care in Mallow General Hospital.
This expansion represents a key investment in Mallow General Hospital and will strengthen patient flow across the region, improving access to inpatient services, and supporting more timely care for those who need it. The additional single rooms also enhance privacy, dignity, and infection prevention standards, aligning with Sláintecare principles.
Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD, said:
“This new extension at Mallow General Hospital represents real progress in how we deliver care across the South West. By increasing capacity here, we are ensuring that patients can move out of acute hospitals sooner and continue their recovery in a more appropriate, less intensive setting, closer to their families and communities.
“Seeing the impact of this investment first-hand today reinforces how vital hospitals like Mallow are to the communities they serve and to the overall resilience of our health service.”
The new extension forms part of a broader expansion programme at Mallow General Hospital. Phase one, completed in 2023, delivered 48 single-occupancy rooms. With this second phase now operational, the hospital is better equipped to meet growing demand while maintaining high standards of care in a modern environment.
Sonya Cotter, HSE Manager for Cork North and East said:
“We are delighted to welcome Minister Carroll MacNeill to Mallow today and sincerely thank her for officially opening this important new extension. This expansion is a major step forward for Mallow General Hospital and for healthcare delivery across the region.
“It enables us to treat more patients, reduce pressure on acute hospitals, and provide care in a modern, single-room environment that prioritises dignity, privacy and safety. These additional beds will make a real difference to patient flow and access to care, strengthening the vital role Mallow plays within the wider health system. We are proud to continue building on that role, supported by a community that has always deeply cared about its local hospital.”
Claire Crowley, Mallow General Hospital Manager, said:
“This is a fantastic day for Mallow General Hospital and for the community we serve. This extension significantly enhances our capacity to care for patients in a modern, comfortable environment and allows us to continue delivering high-quality, person-centred care as a Model 2 hospital.
“Mallow General Hospital holds a special place in the hearts of the local community, it is more than a healthcare facility, it is a vital part of people’s lives. We see every day how much it means to those who rely on it, and this development ensures we can continue to meet their needs into the future.”
ENDS
FREE PIC – NO REPRO FEE – June 8, 2026
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, TD officially opened an extension at Mallow General Hospital, which includes 24 beds which recently came into use. This will significantly increase inpatient hospital capacity in the HSE South West region. This brings the hospital’s total bed capacity from 71 to 95 beds.
The expansion will play a critical role in providing care for the people of North Cork, closer to home. It also enhances flow from the hospitals in Cork and Kerry by accommodating patients to continue their care in Mallow General Hospital.
Pic: Brian Lougheed