Eilísh Hardiman is Chief Executive since 2013 of Children’s Health Ireland (previously the Children’s Hospital Group). Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) is the body legally established in January 2019 to govern and manage children’s healthcare services in its 4 service locations in Dublin at Crumlin, Temple Street, Tallaght and Connolly Hospital, as a single entity in partnership with multiple academic institutions to provide integrated paediatric healthcare services, education, research and innovation.

Annually, CHI treats and cares for over 334,500 children and adolescents through its 4,000 staff. Children are 25% of the Irish population and CHI provides all their national paediatric specialty needs with some on an all-island basis, as well as, all secondary paediatric care for the population in the Greater Dublin Area.

Eilísh has over 30 years acute academic teaching hospital experience, 20 of which at senior corporate management level in several roles, including 3 Chief Executive posts, a Deputy CEO / Chief Operations Officer post and Director of Nursing. She has been directly involved in progressing the transformation and development of paediatric healthcare since 2006, when the policy decision was first made to develop a single national children’s hospital central to an integrated network of paediatric services in Ireland.

CHI are client to the new national children’s hospital, a €1.7bn project, the largest capital investment in the state that is currently under construction on the campus shared with St James’s Hospital.

Eilísh has an Executive MBA from Smurfit School of Business and as her professional background is in nursing, has several academic and professional nursing qualifications. She is also a Trustee of the Children’s Health Foundation since 2020.