St. Mary's Hospital (Phoenix Park)


St Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park, Dublin provides accommodation to dependent older persons.

History

Royal Hibernian Military School

The Royal Hibernian Military School was founded in 1769 as the Hibernian Asylum, by the Hibernian Society, a philanthropic organisation founded in Ireland in 1769 after the Seven Years' War. The Society petitioned the King for a charter on 18 April 1769 and the Hibernian Society was incorporated under Royal Charter on 15 July 1769. The first meeting of the Governors was held on 6 November 1769 in Dublin Castle.
In 1922 the school and boys moved to Shorncliffe and the buildings were handed over to the newly independent Irish Government.

Medical use

The buildings were used as a hospital by the Irish Army. In 1948 it was transferred to the Dublin Health Authority and turned into a Chest Hospital. In 1964 it became a facility for older patients and provides today accommodation for dependent older people. It has 198 residential places.

COVID-19 pandemic

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic patients contracted COVID-19. On 11 April 2020 it was announced by HSE that 11 patients had died in the hospital since 2 April 2020. Ten patients were confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19 and the eleventh was a suspected COVID-19 case that was awaiting confirmation. On 25 April 2020 HSE confirmed that 21 patients had died at the hospital since the start of April. Eleven residents had died between 2 April and 17 April and a further ten had died between 17 April and 25 April. All who died tested positive for COVID-19.