History
Portrane Asylum was built at the end of the nineteenth century on what was then an isolated peninsula on the north coast of Dublin. At one time it comprised nearly 500 acres (2.0 km2) running its own farm and providing its own produce.
Towards the latter end of the 19th century new attitudes were emerging regarding the care of the mentally ill. The different categories of mental illness were being identified and their separate needs recognised. The cellular "prison-like" institutions where the mentally ill could be kept under restraint were no longer appropriate or desirable. The asylum could no longer be a place of indefinite internment. Facilities for recreation, occupation and exercise were seen as important elements in the design of institutional buildings for the mentally ill.
The development of the new asylum at Portrane took cognisance of these attitudes although the isolated site chosen for the hospital still spoke of the fear of the mentally ill and the desire to separate them from "normal" society. However, this was a generally accepted policy in both Great Britain and Ireland in the 19th century.
The design for St. Ita's was the subject of a limited architectural competition which was won by George Ashlin. Although his design was very advances in its concept at that time, his scheme was sanctioned by the Board of Control and accepted by the Board of Governors of the Richmond Lunatic Asylum in 1895. The 'Irish Builder' in its issue of April 15, 1895, records an argument which subsequently erupted within the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, regarding the choice of the winning scheme. Ashlin's design had exceeded the proposed building budget and he had been allowed to revise his scheme to reduce the cost. The eminent architects Thomas Drew, Albert E. Murray and W. Kaye Parry were not happy with the outcome.
St Ita's Hospital was the largest single building contract ever undertaken in Ireland. The original estimated cost was £200,000. In its issue of 15 July 1900 The Irish Builder suggested that the cost of the completed building "will probably be about £250,000". It appears from the text of Ashlin's obituary that the final cost exceeded £300,000.
Construction of the building commenced in 1896 and was approaching completion in 1900. It was designed to accommodate 1,200 patients.
Ashlin's hospital of 1896 is still intact and functioning in part.
Many smaller buildings have been added throughout the 20th century but the original building remains the dominant focus of the site.
Read more about this topic: St Ita's Hospital
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