The Archives of St Finan’s Hospital – St Finan's Hospital, Killarney

Richmond District Lunatic Asylum in Dublin housed the first Irish war hospital for soldiers suffering from shell shock during WWI. Shell shock is a…

When a patient was admitted to St Finan’s Hospital, they were given a diagnosis of a mental illness and an underlying cause. This…

The background of the Killarney District Lunatic Asylum runs in parallel with the national setting. Subject to the 1845 Lunacy Act, each district…

In this article, there are two objectives. First, an update on the trends of confinement related to social issues such as alcohol consumption…

These are concise case stories obtained from St Finan’s archival casebooks. There are many stories and some are going to be developed and…

I was fortunate to gain access to the archives of St Finan’s Hospital for my Masters research. There are hundreds of archival books…

The Inspectorate in Lunacy was legislated to oversee the asylum and its medical staff. It was set up in 1846 in Dublin Castle…

Some terms used in historical records may now be considered derogatory or offensive but reflect the attitudes and language of the time. ‘Idiots’…

Details have been altered to protect the patient’s identity. William was a 45-year-old married ex policeman, he was of good health and usually…

St Finan's Hospital, Killarney