Designed by William Atkins in the Gothic revival style the hospital was built to meet the rising demand of mental health care in the city. Situated in Shanakiel the site enjoyed unparalled views over the River Lee and across the south side of Cork City. The new hospital building was named after the Earl of Eglington, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. It officially opened as the Eglinton Lunatic Asylum in 1852.
In 1885 a chapel was added to the site followed by an annex to the east of the main building. The annex became known as St Kevin's Hospital. The two main buildings were connected by a covered walkway which lead to the site becoming known as the "Longest building in the Republic Of Ireland".
In 1926 the main hospital was renamed Cork District Mental Hospital and in 1952 it became Our Lady's Psychiatric Hospital. Closing in 1992 the building stood empty until the "celtic tiger" property boom when it was partly redeveloped and renamed Atkins hall. During the financial crisis of 2007/2008 the redevelopment came to a grinding halt and Our ladys hospital remains half developed to this day.
Thats a mad dash through the history of this place but I would highly recommend checking out this website for a more in depth and personal account of the place.
This old psychiatric hospital overlooking Cork city holds a place in most Corkonians hearts, it is a local landmark and inhabits a very prominent position in the area. There are many different places where you can see it and it always seems to be watching the city silently. It has much the same history as most of these type of sites; appalling conditions, poor care, long term residents, disrepair, dodgy treatments etc etc.
I first saw photos online in around 2009 but had no idea I would set foot in the place one day. Skip forward a couple of years and I'd met someone from Cork and we were stalking the hallways together in late 2014. I had already seen many of the famous UK asylums over the previous years [so this one, while it had its merits] was pretty far gone already. I've kept coming back though. Its one of those places, always there, always open and always a good craic to look around if you've an hour or so to spare. Totally destroyed but I do kind of like that more and more these days. Following is a mixture of phone, 35mm and Digital.
There is a nice example of a caged staircase remaining in the main building
Heading upstairs most of the building survives in this state
At this point you reach the part where the derelict building meets the redeveloped section. Via a set of doors that would take you straight to hell.
Behind the main building is a huge church hall which I imagine doubled as the main recreation hall and place of worship. There are actually four churches present on the site presumably to accommodate for the different faiths practiced here. This building was really something, looking across from the main hospital it appears with a huge broken and crooked roof. Once inside its clear to see why. A vast space to spend some time. I could only imagine the celebrations and masses held here.
St Kevin's Hospital
Commissioned as an Annex to Our ladys hospital this building was designed by William Henry Hill. Originally housing 490 patients. In the mid 20th Century it was renamed St Kevin's Hospital. With the closure of the main facility decline was inevitable however electroconvulsive therapy was still practiced here until the late 1990s.
In 2002, 10 years after the main hospital site closed, St Kevin's followed and shut its doors for the final time.
In 2017 there was a catastrophic fire destroying much of the roof of the building. During 2021 An Bord Pleanála gave the go ahead for a residential development and in 2023 clearance work began and the whole building and immediate area is currently being stripped and redeveloped.
I visited much of St Kevins before the fire in 2014/2015 but lost the film rolls to a bad development screw up. I did get a few on a crappy Nikon D3000 too though. I've been back again recently to check on the redevelopment so I can show a few comparisons here.
The famous covered walkway which connected the two main facilities - 2014
2023 - Our Ladys to the left and St Kevin's chapel to the right
This is the smaller chapel at the front of the site, it can be seen to the left of the gatehouse in the original photograph at the beginning of the thread. A pleasant brick built church, there is some nice brickwork in here if that's your thing. These were taken around 2017. There is a house built in the grounds now, however the church remains boarded up and empty, like a strange garden ornament.
St Kevin's church - stripped inside but features the traditional arches and massive radiators you would expect. It has a small crypt also.
Lastly this is St Annes. A smaller hospital at the rear of St Kevin's. I didn't manage to access this one, although I have seen photographs from inside and it looked alright. Its completely gone now, demolished a few years ago to make way for the coming redevelopment of St Kevin's.
2015
2023
Thanks for looking!
In 1885 a chapel was added to the site followed by an annex to the east of the main building. The annex became known as St Kevin's Hospital. The two main buildings were connected by a covered walkway which lead to the site becoming known as the "Longest building in the Republic Of Ireland".
In 1926 the main hospital was renamed Cork District Mental Hospital and in 1952 it became Our Lady's Psychiatric Hospital. Closing in 1992 the building stood empty until the "celtic tiger" property boom when it was partly redeveloped and renamed Atkins hall. During the financial crisis of 2007/2008 the redevelopment came to a grinding halt and Our ladys hospital remains half developed to this day.
Thats a mad dash through the history of this place but I would highly recommend checking out this website for a more in depth and personal account of the place.
This old psychiatric hospital overlooking Cork city holds a place in most Corkonians hearts, it is a local landmark and inhabits a very prominent position in the area. There are many different places where you can see it and it always seems to be watching the city silently. It has much the same history as most of these type of sites; appalling conditions, poor care, long term residents, disrepair, dodgy treatments etc etc.
I first saw photos online in around 2009 but had no idea I would set foot in the place one day. Skip forward a couple of years and I'd met someone from Cork and we were stalking the hallways together in late 2014. I had already seen many of the famous UK asylums over the previous years [so this one, while it had its merits] was pretty far gone already. I've kept coming back though. Its one of those places, always there, always open and always a good craic to look around if you've an hour or so to spare. Totally destroyed but I do kind of like that more and more these days. Following is a mixture of phone, 35mm and Digital.
There is a nice example of a caged staircase remaining in the main building
Heading upstairs most of the building survives in this state
At this point you reach the part where the derelict building meets the redeveloped section. Via a set of doors that would take you straight to hell.
Behind the main building is a huge church hall which I imagine doubled as the main recreation hall and place of worship. There are actually four churches present on the site presumably to accommodate for the different faiths practiced here. This building was really something, looking across from the main hospital it appears with a huge broken and crooked roof. Once inside its clear to see why. A vast space to spend some time. I could only imagine the celebrations and masses held here.
St Kevin's Hospital
Commissioned as an Annex to Our ladys hospital this building was designed by William Henry Hill. Originally housing 490 patients. In the mid 20th Century it was renamed St Kevin's Hospital. With the closure of the main facility decline was inevitable however electroconvulsive therapy was still practiced here until the late 1990s.
In 2002, 10 years after the main hospital site closed, St Kevin's followed and shut its doors for the final time.
In 2017 there was a catastrophic fire destroying much of the roof of the building. During 2021 An Bord Pleanála gave the go ahead for a residential development and in 2023 clearance work began and the whole building and immediate area is currently being stripped and redeveloped.
I visited much of St Kevins before the fire in 2014/2015 but lost the film rolls to a bad development screw up. I did get a few on a crappy Nikon D3000 too though. I've been back again recently to check on the redevelopment so I can show a few comparisons here.
The famous covered walkway which connected the two main facilities - 2014
2023 - Our Ladys to the left and St Kevin's chapel to the right
This is the smaller chapel at the front of the site, it can be seen to the left of the gatehouse in the original photograph at the beginning of the thread. A pleasant brick built church, there is some nice brickwork in here if that's your thing. These were taken around 2017. There is a house built in the grounds now, however the church remains boarded up and empty, like a strange garden ornament.
St Kevin's church - stripped inside but features the traditional arches and massive radiators you would expect. It has a small crypt also.
Lastly this is St Annes. A smaller hospital at the rear of St Kevin's. I didn't manage to access this one, although I have seen photographs from inside and it looked alright. Its completely gone now, demolished a few years ago to make way for the coming redevelopment of St Kevin's.
2015
2023
Thanks for looking!
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