Instituting Grangegorman

‘Instituting Grangegorman’ is the second in the Grangegorman Histories podcast series exploring the histories of the Grangegorman area of north, inner-city Dublin. Over the past 250 years, Grangegorman has been the site of a workhouse, a prison and a large psychiatric hospital and now this site is being redeveloped as a health and education campus for the HSE, TU Dublin and the local community. This podcast explores the history of the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, now the recently restored TU Dublin Lower House.

Join architectural historian, Patrick Quinlan, as he explores the chequered career of this landmark building: a story of optimistic conception and utilitarian service, of neglect, decline and demise, culminating in the latest chapter of rebirth as a valued architectural and historical landmark.

The architect of the original asylum building was Francis Johnston, most noted as the architect of the General Post Office on O’Connell Street, Dublin and the Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle. He designed and constructed the building, which opened in 1814, in a spirit of optimism as a national solution to the shameful conditions in which people with mental illnesses were confined in prisons, bridewells and houses of industry all over Ireland.

The original design and construction included architectural innovations and features that were informed by moral treatment: a progressive and humane approach to the care of people with mental illness popular during the early 19th century. However, by the later 20th century, the building became synonymous with the worst aspects of institutionalisation. Its closure in 1989 was heralded as ‘symbolic of a revolution in healthcare’; its ‘dungeon-like architecture’ fit only for demolition. Three quarters of the building was levelled but Johnston’s entrance front survived. It endured two further decades of decay and dereliction before it was identified as a building of architectural, social and historical importance and worthy of protection. It has become part of the regeneration of the Grangegorman site, transforming this former hospital complex. The building reopened in 2021, ready to write its next chapter as a keycentre for student services on the new TU Dublin Grangegorman campus.

About the podcaster:

Patrick Quinlan, B.Arch, ARB, MUBC

Patrick holds a Masters in Urban and Building Conservation from UCD and is a practicing architect with professional experience spanning from modern healthcare to the conservation and reuse of a range of historic structures. His recently published Walls of Containment, the Architecture and Landscapes of Lunacy  explores the history of Ireland’s legacy asylum sites through the lens of architectural history. Patrick is a past recipient of the RIBA Dissertation Commendation and is currently undertaking a PhD at Birkbeck, University of London.