This webpage aims to give some further insight into the history of St Finan’s Hospital and will initially have a strong focus on the period between 1900-1930, an era of significant political and social change, including WW1, the struggle for independence, civil war, chronic poverty, and unremitting emigration. There will also be a broad overview of other periods and eventually a wider perspective of the history St Finan’s and mental healthcare in Co Kerry.

This digital artifact was undertaken by Patricia O Sullivan in relation to her thesis research for an MA in Digital Arts and Humanities, University College Cork. Acknowledgments to Shawn Day (UCC), Christine Carroll (HSE) and Mike Lynch (Kerry County Archivist, Tralee Library) for their support with this research. Numerous resources have been used to inform this site, including archival material from St Finan’s Hospital, the Census, Parliamentary Papers, Inspector Reports and research from leading figures in the field of history of medicine and mental healthcare.

Future Aims are to expand this research to cover a wider time-frame and explore the archival records and cases more an in-depth manner as well encouraging a collaborative participation from the community and interested parties.

Please note that identifiable details of patients will not be used and this site aims to maintain the strictest data protection.

Finally the aim is to use terminology that reflect the archival language of the era and are historically correct. It does not reflect or endorse present understanding of such terms which may be regarded as politically incorrect or offensive.