- St. Conal's Psychiatric Hospital
Infobox Hospital
Name = St. Conal's Hospital
Org/Group =
Caption = St. Conal's Hospital shrouded by the trees of the adjacentLetterkenny Town Park
Location =Letterkenny ,County Donegal ,Republic of Ireland .
Region =
State =
Country = Ireland
HealthCare = HSE
Type = Psychiatric hospital
Speciality =Psychiatric hospital
Emergency = No
Affiliation=
Beds =
Founded =1866
Closed =
Website =
Wiki-Links = |:"See also: Architecture of Letterkenny - St. Conal's Hospital"St. Conal’s Hospital (Irish: "Ospidéal Naomh Conaill") is a psychiatric hospital located in
Letterkenny ,County Donegal ,Ireland . It is adjacent toLetterkenny Town Park nearLetterkenny General Hospital . It is the only psychiatric hospital located in County Donegal. Part of the hospital previously housed the Science Department ofLetterkenny Institute of Technology .History
Construction
The building was designed by architect George Wilkinson, an Englishman employed by the Poor Law Commissioners, in Victorian style. The hospital was built in Letterkenny to accommodate 300 patients. The building was completed in early
1866 at a cost of approximately £37,000.Life
St. Conal's was a largely self-sufficient institution. The hospital farm provided the hospital with potatoes, milk from 60 pedigree cows and meat from its own
abattoir . Acres of vegetables were grown in the hospital grounds. The patients were required to do all the farmwork and three wooden sheds were erected near the farm where they took their meals - usually taken out by donkey and cart.Extension
Patient numbers increased steadily between 1860 and 1900. It was then deemed necessary to build an extension to the hospital. In 1912 the edifice, or New Building as it is also known, was erected. The hospital's chapel was built in neo-Norman style in the 1930s. At its peak St. Conal's provided accommodation for approximately 800 patients. To cater for these numbers a large staff was needed. In the 1960s nursing staff numbers reached close to 500.
Security
Security was of paramount importance. All doors were locked and windows had slips on them to prevent them from opening more than five inches. A wall of approximately ten feet high and a large set of gates enclosed the hopital and its grounds. The gates were kept locked day and night. The gates which were synonymous with the hospital for over a hundred years were made history when a lorry crashed into them in the 1960s.
Sport
In the late 1950s and 1960s St. Conal's had three soccer teams and one Gaelic football team. In 1964 the hospital won the All Ireland Hospital's Gaelic Football Championships. They beat Waterford Psychiatric Hospital in the final. The hospital soccer pitch still exists today.
Today
Today the building houses the HSE's dental clinics, physiotherapy units and mental health facilities. There is also a library located in the hospital. There has been much criticism as the new building is in a state of disrepair. Many windows remain smashed and walls are falling in.
Fire
On Monday 27 August 2007 a blaze broke out at the hospital which took fire services approximately four hours to extinguish. The fire was reported to have broken out at 5:45 pm in a downstairs room. [Letterkenny Post, Thursday 30 August 2007]
ee also
*
List of hospitals in the Republic of Ireland References
External links
* [http://www.letterkennyguide.utvinternet.com/stconals.htm St. Conal's Hospital on "Letterkenny Guide"]
* [http://www.hebe.ie/Links/Hospitals/Donegal/ Health Service Executive]
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