Background to the Grangegorman Histories Project
Grangegorman Hospital was founded as the Richmond Lunatic Asylum in 1814 and it became the largest and most important psychiatric hospital in Ireland.
In 1830, it became part of the district asylum system, serving the city and county of Dublin, and was renamed the Richmond District Lunatic Asylum. Its service area included Dublin city and county, Wicklow, Louth, Meath, and the town of Drogheda.
In 1855, Meath was removed from its service area, and Louth followed in 1930. In 1918, the term “lunatic” was dropped from its name, becoming the Richmond District Asylum.
In 1921, the institution was renamed Grangegorman Mental Hospital to avoid confusion with the nearby Richmond Hospital. This name remained until June 1960, when the Grangegorman Hospital Board was disbanded, and the institution was renamed St. Brendan’s Mental Hospital.
Conserving the collection
Today, its archives are the most voluminous collection of hospital archives known in Ireland.
The National Archives undertook significant work to the material relating to this collection as part of a two-year project. Funded by grants from the Wellcome Trust, a project team carried out archival and conservation processing of this extensive collection. The work was completed in September 2014, marking a successful effort to preserve the historical records of Grangegorman Hospital.
Our participation with the Grangegorman Histories Project facilitates access to these invaluable documents, enriching the project’s research and findings.
Find out more at Grangegorman Histories – Royal Irish Academy
