Presentation of the Centre

The Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute integrates the long tradition of outstanding comprehensive cancer care delivered at Ireland’s largest academic health campus at St. James’s Hospital in central Dublin. In 2016, Trinity College Dublin and St. James’s Hospital established a joint initiative to develop the Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute, bringing together the unique and complementary attributes of both institutions in the field of cancer.

Main Research Activities

Research at the Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute is an integrated, thematic programme which involves fundamental science, translational medicine, health economics and planning, and global health. Our research strategy builds on existing strengths and integrates key research areas across 4 main themes, namely cancer prevention, molecular and precision oncology, cancer immunology and cancer survivorship and supportive care. Clinical research spans the breadth of these 4 themes and results in a horizontally and vertically interwoven, multidisciplinary, vibrant cancer research network based on the infrastructure provided by the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Smurfit Institute for Genetics, CRANN and Trinity Translational Medicine Institute.

Core Facilities

Primary core facilities exist at the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute and the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute – comprising Biosafety facilities, The Irish National Centre for High Content Screening and Analysis, Bioresource units and Laboratory for Characterisation of Advanced Biological Materials in addition to the Centre for Advanced Medical Imaging, and the Wellcome Trust – HRB Clinical Research Facility.

Education

The Institute provides extensive education programmes in Translational Oncology for undergraduate and postgraduate students, scientists, clinicians, nurses, healthcare professionals and allied healthcare workers. These programmes are also designed to engage with public-patient involvement (PPI activities). The Institute offers scholarships and fellowship opportunities in clinical and translational research and directs a career development programme for young investigators.

Presentation of the Centre

The Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre is made up of Beaumont Hospital, the Royal College of Surgeons In Ireland (RCSI) and St. Luke's Radiation Oncology Network. Beaumont Hospital is one of 9 designated cancer centres in Ireland under the auspices of the National Cancer Control Programme, one of eight regional centres with a full diagnostic and treatment pathway for breast, rectal and prostate cancers; one of four centres that treat patients with cancers of the upper gastrointestinal system and one of two centres that have a full pathway for patients with neuro-oncology tumours. The Beaumont RCSI Cancer centre aims to work closely with other hospitals and community services to ensure appropriate aspects of patient care are delivered as close to home as possible

Main Research Activities

The Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre has a strong reputation in translational research, the university’s field-weighted citation impact is the highest in Ireland. The mission of the Centre is to provide innovative evidence-based care to our cancer patients. Our strategy is to undertake patient centric research to cement our international standing in systems medicine, imaging and integrative genomics. Research programmes are based on disease area and are underpinned by our clinical trials and translational research platforms. The Centre will build on key national and international partnerships to enable us to lead investigator initiated clinical trials and large-scale epidemiological studies. We will collaborate across academia, patient groups, charities and industry to rapidly develop our cancer innovations for the clinic

Education

Beaumont Hospital and the RCSI have been partners in the delivery of high-quality education for many years. As a cancer centre we are committed to providing excellence in cancer education to patients, their families and all staff involved in cancer care, services and research. On a greater scale our ambition is to collaborate with leading cancer centres in Europe to continuously improve and develop in order to respond to the needs of our patients, offering high quality care in an environment in which research and education flourish.

Presentation Of The Centre

The HSE West North West, University of Galway, Cancer Centre provides cancer care to the West and Northwest of Ireland. Governance is through a Cancer Managed Clinical and Academic network (MCAN) led out of the Cancer Centre at Galway University Hospital (GUH) - designated cancer centre in the National Cancer Control Programme (Ireland) since 2006 - and affiliated regional hospitals.

Main Research Activities

Research is an integral part of the HSE West North West, University of Galway, Cancer Centre in collaboration with the academic partner, University of Galway. Key enablers of cancer research are the Lambe Institute for Translational Research and the Health Research Board-funded Clinical Research Facility, both co-located with the GUH Cancer Centre.

These centres facilitate cancer clinical trials including first in human studies, a cancer biobank (biological samples and data for breast, colorectal, prostate, lung, and endocrine tumours), and medical device research and application.

Core Facilities

Clinical cancer core facilities include surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology (soon to be delivered from the new GUH National Radiation Oncology Facility) and a North-South healthcare agreement which allows access to radiotherapy services at Altnagelvin Hospital in Northern Ireland.

Cancer research cores include the HRB-Clinical Research Facility; cancer biobank; bioinformatics, flow cytometry; bioresource unit; microscopy and imaging; mass spectrometry; patient and public Involvement (PPI Ignite); and the Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland (CCMI), a licensed GMP facility for stem cell manufacture.

Education

The education mission of the HSE West North West, University of Galway, Cancer Centre is led out of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at NUI Galway, with regional reach provided via hospital co-located Medical Academies.

The College delivers and supports accredited undergraduate degrees and research programmes for nursing, medical, and health and social care students, and taught and research higher degrees to a multidisciplinary cohort of graduate students.

Presentation of the Centre

Cork University Hospital (CUH), supported by its’ academic partner University College Cork (UCC), is one of the largest university teaching hospitals in Ireland and the largest National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) designated cancer centre in the South of Ireland. The CUH/UCC Cancer Centre provides high-quality care for patients at risk of and diagnosed with cancer, serving a wider population of approximately 1.1 million. The centre treats all major cancer subtypes and is one of only two cancer centres nationally managing surgical care of hepatobiliary/pancreatic and central nervous system tumours.

Core Facilities

Core clinical facilities include inpatient, outpatient and chemotherapy day ward services, alongside surgery and a state-of-the-art Radiation Oncology Centre - one of the largest single-site facilities in Ireland. Multidisciplinary diagnostics are embedded in cancer services and supported by dedicated nursing, allied health, and psycho-oncology teams.

Research and Education

All aspects of cancer prevention and clinical care are integrated with innovative research, education, and training to advance the quality of patient care. CUH houses a robust cancer clinical trials unit (Cancer Trials Cork, site of the UCC Cancer Trials Group) to ensure access to novel diagnostics and therapies for patients with cancer. The broad portfolio encompasses phase I-III therapeutic trials in haematologic/solid malignancies, radiation therapy and surgery; including academic collaborative trials via Cancer Trials Ireland and industry trials, with a developing portfolio of patient-focused investigator-initiated trials. Clinical and translational research currently spans the areas of cancer biology, the microbiome, synthetic biology, precision oncology clinical trials and cancer outcomes research including an expanding portfolio of studies in the cancer survivorship space.

Presentation of the Centre

The St Vincent’s UCD Cancer Centre - a joint venture between St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (comprising St Vincent’s University Hospital and St Vincent’s Private Hospital) and University College Dublin (UCD) - is one of eight designated adult cancer centres in Ireland and is the nationally designated centre for neuroendocrine tumours (NET), pancreatic cancer and sarcoma. In addition, the centre is one of the largest providers of care for patients with breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer and is one of three adult stem cell transplant centres in the country.

Main Research Activities

The Cancer Centre’s Cancer Research Committee coordinates research programmes across the St Vincent’s UCD Cancer Centre. The Research Committee reports into the Cancer Centre Executive and has the aim of integrating cancer research with clinical oncology by bringing together leading cancer researchers and clinical oncology to develop improved prevention strategies, diagnostics and treatment options, that can be rapidly translated to patient benefits. The St Vincent’s Cancer Centre encompasses all cancer research activity at the hospital campus, including a specialised cancer trials unit, as well as several UCD based research groups including:

• All-Island Cancer Research Institute (AICRI): A UCD established all-island collaborative cancer research project.
• Precision Oncology Ireland: A UCD based precision oncology research cluster.
• Centre for Colorectal Disease: A centre with IBD and colorectal cancer as its twin areas of focus.

Education

The St Vincent’s UCD Cancer Centre is committed to providing world-class cancer training and education for all specialities involved in cancer care. In partnership with University College Dublin and other relevant training and accreditation bodies, like the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, the Cancer Centre educates and trains the next generation of cancer researchers, clinicians, and health care professionals.

Presentation of the Centre

The Mater Private Network includes two hospitals, located in Dublin and Cork (opened in 2012), two radiotherapy centres in Limerick and Liverpool and a number of out-patient clinics in various locations throughout Ireland. The Network has built a strong reputation for medical innovation and the provision of high acuity care, and is a national leader for cardiovascular and cancer specialties in particular.

Main Research Activities

The established culture of recruitment to national and international trials in medical and radiation oncology has been reinforced by a commitment to support the Ireland East Hospital Group Cancer Trials Cluster, which was awarded a multi-annual grant by the Health Research Board in 2021 to promote collaborative research activity between hospitals and academic partners.

Core Facilities

The Mater Private Hospital has nine operating theatres, a full diagnostic imaging service and accredited lab service on site. The oncology day ward treats approximately 60 patients per day and the radiotherapy department, with two linear accelerators and a comprehensive brachytherapy service, completed recruitment and equipment upgrades prior to opening a stereotactic radiosurgery / SABR programme in 2021.

Education

The MPH runs open access medical education (CME) and professional development (CPD) activities for primary care and hospital physicians. The hospital is a partner in the Strategic Academic Recruitment (StAR) MD Programme run by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences) and is a training site for the national higher specialist training programme in Medical Oncology run by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. There is a structured programme to facilitate postgraduate diploma and degree courses in oncology nursing. Undergraduate and graduate training to Masters level in Medical Physics is delivered in collaboration with Technological University Dublin and University College Dublin.

Presentation of the Centre

The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital - one of 9 designated cancer centres in Ireland by the national cancer control program - is a level 4 teaching hospital based in Dublin’s city centre. Its aim to provide a multidisciplinary approach to cancer care by bring together a range of clinical services, high quality patient care, ground breaking scientific research while actively participating in an environment of continuous process improvement for all aspects of cancer care.

Main Research Activities

At the Mater Hospital/ UCD the research is carried out with two clinical trial departments, START Dublin and the Mater hospital Clinical trial and research unit being one of the country’s top accruing research centres in Ireland with speciality studies in advanced Breast cancer, Melanoma and leukaemia. The UCD clinical research centre based in the Mater hospital aims to discover ways to improve medical care and to establish new treatments for patients.

Core Facilities

The Mater hospital clinical facilities include surgery, oncology, radiation oncology, haematology, breast health unit, and a, centre for Integrated Thrombosis Care, Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU) focusing on a variety of cancer trials for patients in Ireland. A phase 1 clinical trial unit (START Dublin). A national Peritoneal Malignancy centre for HIPEC surgeries and an accredited lab ISO 15189:2012 on site.

Education

Education, training and research have always been at the core of the Mater Hospital. We are committed to providing excellence in healthcare for all of our patients and in order to achieve this we recognise that we must support our current and future staff to learn, grow and innovate. Our strong academic partnerships with the university collage Dublin allow us to deliver undergraduate and postgraduate education to hundreds of healthcare professionals including nurses, doctors, and radiographers.

Presentation of the Centre

The Mid Western Cancer Centre is one of the eight designated cancer centres based in the Mid-West of Ireland serving a population of over 420 thousand. Our team is dedicated to providing high quality care to patients with a cancer diagnosis. The service provides patients with multi-disciplinary, up to date, research-based information and treatment by qualified and experienced staff covering a range of disciplines.

Core Facilities

The service provides comprehensive treatments in chemotherapy, radiotherapy and supportive care for patients diagnosed with cancer using a multi-disciplinary approach. Our core clinical facilities include Inpatient, Outpatient and chemotherapy day ward services. Our patients are also supported by our expert Palliative Care team, Psycho Oncology team, Clinical Trial Team and dedicated expert nursing and allied health teams.

Research & Clinical Trials

The Mid Western Cancer Centre is supported by its academic partner University Hospital Limerick. We provide high quality training to all staff involved in cancer care developing the next generation of cancer researchers, clinicians and health care professionals. Our Cancer Clinical Trial Unit conducts and supports clinical research studies that help develop new and effective treatments or new indications for existing medications for a variety of cancers. The team undertakes observational studies to evaluate the impact of new interventions in routine care. All studies conducted at CCTU are performed in accordance with good clinical practice guidelines. Our vision is to provide quality and accurate research to help advance treatments in the area of oncology, haematology and radiotherapy. Our goal is to conduct clinical research studies that help to develop new treatments for a variety of cancers and at the same time, help our patients discover new and effective treatments.

Presentation of the Centre

University Hospital Waterford (UHW) is a level four teaching hospital and the designated National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) Cancer Centre for the South East of Ireland. It provides specialist cancer care in partnership with three affiliated hospitals (Wexford General Hospital, St Luke’s General Hospital Kilkenny and Tipperary University Hospital) in a hub-and-spoke model of care serving the cancer needs of a population of >500,000. The centre treats all major cancer subtypes with emphasis on evidence-based, high quality, multidisciplinary care with equitable access to diagnostics and supportive care.

Main Research Activities

Cancer research is embedded within oncology practice and coordinated through the Medical Oncology Clinical Trials Unit which operates as part of the UCC Cancer Trials Group and Cancer Trials Ireland (CTI) network and non-cancer related research being carried out in the Clinical Research Facility. The cancer research programme supports patient access to novel therapies and evidence generating studies across a wide range of tumour types including breast, lung, GI, GI, Gynae, melanoma and haematological malignancies.

Core Facilities

The hospital provides diagnostics, therapies (across multiple disciplines including surgery, radiation therapy, medical oncology, palliative care and psychological support) and follow up services for patients. The centre provides consultant-led new and review clinics across multiple cancer types.

Education

UHW highly prioritizes education of health care professionals across all multiple discipline including clinicians, nursing, allied health care professionals at under- and postgraduate levels via our strong academic collaborations with the South East Technological University (SETU), University College Cork (UCC) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).

Presentation of the Centre

The Irish Cancer Society, founded in 1963, is a community of patients, survivors, volunteers, supporters, health and social care professionals, and researchers.

We are working towards a future where nobody in Ireland will die from cancer.

The Irish Cancer Society has a voluntary Board of Directors, which meets at least six times a year. The Directors are responsible for the governance of the organisation.

We are committed to researching the origin, causes, relief, cure, treatment, prevention, and alleviation of cancer and related diseases.

The Main Actions of Our Organisation:

Providing Free Cancer Information and Support

Our team of cancer nurses provides free information and support to anyone affected by cancer. They work in our 13 Daffodil Centres in hospitals nationwide and on our Freephone Support Line.

In 2024, 10,700 Freephone Support Line calls and emails were answered — an increase of 8% on the previous year.

Working to Ensure More Cancers Are Caught Early

To achieve this, we lead advocacy campaigns, innovate services, fund research, and work in partnerships that will help eliminate the survival gap between Ireland and other European countries. We aim to give people the best possible chance of surviving cancer.

Our nurse-led community outreach initiative — the Your Health Matters Roadshow — provides free health checks in shopping centres around the country. The Roadshow aims to reduce cancer risk and improve early detection rates. We also partner with organisations such as the Capuchin Day Centre to deliver care and information to their clients.

In 2024, 1,950 health checks were conducted at our early detection roadshows nationwide.

Funding Life-Changing Cancer Research

The Irish Cancer Society currently funds over 120 cancer researchers across Ireland who are working to develop new and better treatments for many types of cancer.

Our research has led to hundreds of discoveries. These findings have been published in international peer-reviewed journals, making this knowledge available to researchers worldwide.

Keeping Cancer on the Government’s Agenda

Through our cancer advocacy work, we listen to patients and lobby the Government to improve their lives.

We work to influence policy, legislation, and national budgets so that patients are at the centre of cancer services and cancer care. We urge Government to take action that will improve quality of life, reduce cancer incidence, and increase survival rates.

A core element of our research programmes is ensuring that patients are at the heart of everything we do. We are leaders in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in research and strive to ensure that the patient voice informs all the work we fund.

Raising Funds to Carry Out Our Mission

Each year, the Irish Cancer Society provides free information, care, and support to people across Ireland affected by cancer. These activities cost more than €20 million annually. Because the Society typically receives only 5% of its funding from the Government, we rely on donations, fundraising campaigns, and our network of charity shops to raise the funds needed to carry out our mission.