Bereavement Services

Barnardo’s Children’s Bereavement Service

 Working with families to help them support their children through the grieving process, which includes therapeutic intervention, community resourcing and a national helpline. 

Children’s Grief Centre Limerick

Is a free support service for school-aged children and young people affected by loss through death, separation or divorce. 

HopeSpace 

HopeSpace provide free one-to-one listening service for grieving children (aged 4-17 years), in a confidential, warm, caring and supportive environment in our Centre in Galway City. A trained volunteer helps children address their emotions around grief, helping them to understand that grief is a normal reaction to loss and all their emotions are normal.

Jacinta’s Smile

 A sibling bereavement support group founded by siblings after they lost their two brothers and their sister. 

Jigsaw

Jigsaw Dublin City is a free, non-judgemental, and confidential support service for young people aged 12 – 25 living, working, or studying in Dublin City. They provide guidance and support for young people who are going through a difficult or distressing time.

Purple House Cancer Support

Provides professional cancer support, psycho-oncology services and bereavement
support to people affected by cancer

Rainbows

Rainbows is a free, voluntary service for children and young people experiencing loss following bereavement and parental separation.  The Rainbows service is an inclusive service, supporting children and young people experiencing grief and loss resulting from bereavement/parental separation/parental relationship breakdown /divorce.

Supports for Families After the Death of a Child or a Child with a Life Limiting Illness:

Anam Cara

Anam Cara Parent Bereavement understands we don’t live in an ideal world, we live in a world after our precious children have died before their time. Bereaved parents have set up this organisation to help themselves and all bereaved parents cope with their grief and loss and journey on.

A Little Lifetime Foundation

A Little Lifetime Foundation (formerly Isands) was established in 1983 by a group of bereaved parents. We are an Irish registered charity, providing supports and services to parents whose baby has died around the time of birth or shortly afterwards and parents who receive a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality in pregnancy.

Barretstown

Offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness – supported behind the scenes by 24 hour on site medical  and nursing care. 

Brain Tumours Ireland

A national organisation with the aim to fight the battle against the disease, we hope to create a place where people can come for information, guidance, and comfort.

Feileacan

Feileacain was formed by a group of bereaved parents to offer support to anyone affected by the death of a baby around the time of birth, and the organisation is now the national charity supporting families affected by perinatal loss.

First Light

FirstLight offers free professional support and provides information to families in Ireland that have experienced the sudden, unexpected death of their child if aged from 0 to 18 years. FirstLight is a trauma-informed organisation, offering a National 24-hour Helpline service, Crisis Intervention and a Psychotherapy service.

Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation

A nationwide charity providing in-home nursing care and respite support for children up to the age of 6 with severe to profound neurodevelopmental delay.

LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice

LauraLynn provides support to families of patients under the care of the hospice. 

LMC Bereavement Support

Support for bereaved couples in Ireland who receive a severe or fatal diagnosis during pregnancy.

UK Based Resources


Childhood Bereavement Network UK

Tips from bereaved pupils about how teachers can help. Also discusses the policy context for addressing bereavement in schools.

Child Bereavement UK

Video ‘What Teachers need to know from bereaved students.’

Department of Education and Skills

DES guidelines to help schools respond to critical incidents, including bereavement,  in the school setting.

Elephants Tea Party

Enables teachers to introduce the concept of death to young people, with downloadable activity packs to follow.

Grief Encounter

Links to resources for schools and outlines a basic bereavement strategy.

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth 

Online resources from the Office of the Minister for Youth Affairs, listing research and information on children. Contains links to research publications, databases and key policy documents.

SeeSaw

Information pack on supporting bereaved pupils in school, and on supporting bereaved pupils with special needs in school.

The Guardian Teacher’s Network 

A selection of resources compiled by the Guardian newspaper about bereavement in the classroom.

Winston’s Wish

UK-based charity with a range of information and packs to download to help schools to support a child who is bereaved.