Bereavement Services
Barnardos Children’s Bereavement Service
It may take some time for a child to talk about death, but getting support and being listened to helps the healing. Barnardos Children’s Bereavement Service is here to help, by working with families to help them support their child through the grieving process. While we can’t shield children from the reality of death and the pain of loss, we can help them to understand, to grieve and to cope a little better.
Barnardos Children’s bereavement service is supported by Tusla and by the Victims of Crime, department of Justice
Quick Links - Free Resources
- Free ebook for parents "Young Children Grieve Too"
- Free poster - "Talking With Children About Traumatic Death"
- Free eBook Mind the Gap - A Guide for Parents and Carers of Bereaved School Age Children and Young People
- Advice for young people
- Ukrainian Trauma and Grief Support (Підтримка українських дітей та сімей, що зазнали емоційної травми або втрати близької людини)
What services are available?
Barnardos’ Children’s Bereavement Helpline Service
Barnardos Helpline Service – (01) 473 2110 – is available from 10am-12pm Monday to Thursday to any adult concerned about a bereaved child and who wishes to seek information or support. The Helpline is operated by fully trained staff and volunteers.
Therapeutic intervention
Barnardos Children’s Bereavement Service offers therapeutic bereavement support to children and their families together. Our centres are based in Cork and Dublin 1. While the services specialises in traumatic grief in children, families are welcome to refer into the service no matter who died, and no matter what the circumstances of the death were. Download more info.
Community Resourcing
How do I access a service?
Children must be referred to the Children’s Bereavement Service. Referrals will be accepted from anybody who has the consent of parents/carers.
- Parents and carers are welcome to contact us directly.
- Referrals can be made through the helpline 01 473 2110 or by contacting our service in Cork and Dublin.
- Other agencies can make referrals using the Barnardos Children’s Bereavement referral form which is available on request from [email protected]
Contact us
Barnardos Children’s Bereavement Helpline: (01) 473 2110 Open Monday to Thursday, 10am-12pm
Dublin Office: 23/24 Lower Buckingham Street, Dublin 1 (01) 8134100 [email protected]
Cork Office: 8/9 Orchard View, Ring Mahon Road, Mahon, Cork (021) 4357679 [email protected]
Training, Consultancy and Research
Barnardos provides training and consultancy for groups and organisations whose work brings them into contact with bereaved children. We also undertake research on issues relating to childhood bereavement. Please email [email protected] for more information.
Advice for young people
External Resources
For further information on childhood bereavement we recommend visiting The Irish Childhood Bereavement Network’s website
Bereavement Counselling Service Evaluation
This evaluation of Barnardos Bereavement Counselling Service for children aimed to gain an understanding of the nature and role of counselling for children who are bereaved.
Bereavement Counselling Service Evaluation - Executive Summary
The Executive Summary presents an overview of the literature on children's responses to bereavement, the methods used in the evaluation study, the main findings and recommendations for the development of the counselling service.