Foundation of St Patrick's Hospital
The foundation of St Patrick’s Hospital was brought about by the will of Jonathan Swift - Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, author of Gulliver's Travels and more, noted satirist and patriot - who, on his death in 1745, left £12,000 to "build a house for fools and mad".
A former governor of the infamous Bedlam asylum in London, Swift was a pioneer in recognising that people living with mental illness should have their voices heard and required a specialist service to provide care and treatment.
One year after his death, in 1746, St Patrick’s Hospital was founded, becoming not only the first psychiatric hospital to be built in Ireland, but one of the very first in the world.
Growth of the hospital
Throughout the 19th century, the hospital grew significantly. By 1817, two building extensions saw the population rise to over 150 service users. By 1872, staff numbers were in the fifties. In 1898, St Edmundsbury in Lucan was acquired in light of the growing need for services, with a new hospital opening its doors there the following year.
It was Dr Richard Leeper, appointed as Medical Superintendent in 1898, who was largely responsible for transforming St Patrick’s into a modern hospital for high quality mental healthcare and treatment.
By 1938, Dr. Leeper's accomplishments included segregating female and male wards; abolishing restraints; establishing a training scheme for nurses and attendants; constructing day rooms, bathrooms, and toilets; and even installing the first clocks for the benefit of patients.
Leeper’s modern-minded initiatives were embraced by his immediate successor, JNP Moore, who removed the old prison-like doors and continually challenged the assumption that all patients were a danger to themselves and society.
In the century that followed, many people worked together to ensure that St. Patrick's became a noted centre for teaching, research and innovation, and a leader in the provision of human rights-based care.
St Patrick's today
280 years on, and now known as St Patrick's Mental Health Services, we have become Ireland's leading independent not-for-profit mental healthcare provider, with more than 700 staff working across clinical and non-clinical disciplines to provide rights-based, recovery-focused care to the thousands of people who access our services each year.
Today, we provide care through:
- two adult inpatient hospitals
- an adolescent inpatient unit
- a homecare service supporting people in their own homes
- more than 30 group therapy day programmes and several one-to-one therapies
- community clinics in Dublin, Cork and Galway offering nationwide access.
Digital technologies and remote access have expanded the reach of our services, helping more people access support when and where they need it.
In the 21st century, we are not only a trusted provider of person-centred mental healthcare, but also a national leader in mental health education, advocacy, research and training. Our work is underpinned by meaningful engagement with people with lived experience of mental health difficulties, whose insights help shape and improve mental health services and create a more inclusive society.
Our future
As we look to the future, we continue to evolve, investing in our people, services and facilities, while exploring new ways to improve mental health outcomes and support mentally healthy living.
Recent refurbishment of the historic building where this story began reflects that ongoing commitment to renewal and progress, ensuring that it remains a place of care, learning and support for generations to come.
Nearly three centuries after Swift’s bequest, his legacy continues to shape and inspire what comes next for us. While much has changed over the past 280 years, our commitment to improving the mental health of individuals, families and communities remains as relevant today as it was in 1746.
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