St. Kevin's Hospital

Hospital in County Cork, Ireland
51°53′47″N 8°30′32″W / 51.89640°N 8.50875°W / 51.89640; -8.50875OrganisationCare systemHSETypeSpecialistServicesSpecialityPsychiatric hospitalHistoryOpened1899Closed2002

St. Kevin's Hospital (Irish: Ospidéal Naomh Caoimhín) was a psychiatric hospital in Cork, County Cork, Ireland.

History

The hospital, which was originally commissioned as an annex to Our Lady's Hospital, was designed by William Henry Hill[1] and opened in 1899.[2] The new annex was a substantial facility in its own right and it initially accommodated 490 patients.[2] It was renamed St. Kevin's Hospital in the mid-20th century.[2]

After the introduction of deinstitutionalisation in the late 1980s the hospital went into a period of decline.[3][4] However electroconvulsive therapy was still used on patients in the late 1990s[5] and in 1999 the Inspector of Mental Hospitals reported that conditions in the hospital were "most unsatisfactory".[5] After services transferred to Mercy University Hospital, St. Kevin's hospital closed in 2002.[6] It subsequently became derelict and was badly damaged in a fire in 2017.[6] In 2021 clearance from An Bord Pleanála allowed the Land Development Agency to move ahead with plans for residential development at the site.[7]

References

  1. ^ "14-acre site of former St Kevin's Asylum finally put on the market". Irish Examiner. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "History of St Kevin's: A mental health institution that incarcerated innocent people in filthy conditions". Journal.ie. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ^ "After the Asylum". Irish Times. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  4. ^ Cotter, Noelle (2009). "Transfer of Care? A Critical Analysis of Post-Release Psychiatric Care for Prisoners in the Cork Region" (PDF). University College Cork. p. 5. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b "No defence of the dirt at St Kevin's". Irish Times. 24 January 2001. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Beautiful and spooky: Abandoned asylum now apartments in Co. Cork". Irish Central. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  7. ^ Shanahan, Catherine (22 April 2021). "How Cork's St Kevin's will be transformed into a 'vibrant residential community'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 September 2021.