Aoife’s Clown Doctors Ireland

Aoife’s Clown Doctors provide professional clowning entertainment to children in Ireland’s hospital wards, to momentarily offer an escape from the stress and anxiety of the hospital setting for all family members, through laughter and games.

The Clown Doctors are professional actors trained to work in healthcare settings, using their specialist performance skills, measured humour, and fun to support patients with empathy and sensitivity. They help the children, their families, and at times the hospital staff to cope with hospitalisation and the stress that goes with it.

Areas of activities

The Clown Doctors under the Humour Foundation commenced in Temple Street and Crumlin Hospitals in 2005. Due to recession and funding difficulties the Humour Foundation left Ireland in 2013. Aoife’s Clown Doctors restarted the clown rounds in 2014 and became a registered charity in 2019.

We currently carry out our clown rounds in CHI Crumlin, CHI Temple Street and University Hospital Galway. We have also visited LauraLynn Children’s Hospice.

Later in 2023, the programme will expand to the paediatric wards of Mayo General Hospital and Portiuncula University Hospital in County Galway. We will also be increasing the frequency of clown rounds in CHI Crumlin to twice a week to cover other wards.