People who took part in the event included Mrs Brown’s Boys’ Brendan O’Carroll and Jenny O’Carroll, Mary Byrne, Rosanna Davison, Chris De Burgh, Shane Byrne, Stephen Hunt, Ruby Walsh, Tracey Piggot and Steve Garrigan of Kodaline.

Rachel Kenna, Director of Nursing at OLCHC, said: “It is just wonderful to see our patients’ faces light up when the stars enter their wards. Apart from Santa’s special visit this is one of our most exciting Christmas events, which we look forward to all year round.

“We are very grateful to Valerie and Gary Keating for organising this event and for their continuous support to the children and families attending the hospital.

Over 100 very ill children will spend Christmas Day in the hospital. Having a child with a serious illness puts a lot of strain on families, particularly at this time of year. Although it is business as usual in the hospital over Christmas, we always try to ensure that each child who spends Christmas Day in hospital has a magical experience.

OLCHC celebrated its 60th anniversary in November. The hospital cares for over 140,000 outpatients annually from all over Ireland and has 28,637 inpatient admissions. The average length of stay for patients has decreased from 17 days in 1956 to five days in 2016.

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