Asylum E, Ireland

Asylum E is a former Irish psychiatric hospital, a sombre relic from a darker era in mental health care. The hulking figure looms against the skyline, a painful reminder for many families. Despite being closed for 20 years, it remains empty and dilapidated.

In the spring of 2023, I visited Asylum E as part of a long-overdue road trip around Ireland.

The Early history of Asylum E – 1800’S TO 1940S

The hospital was the county’s first of such facilities, dating back to the early 1800s. The immense site was one of the largest public buildings in the county. The hospital was a welcome employer in a region where pensioned jobs were scarce.

The hospital is a relic from a time when mental health was poorly understood. Male and female patients were kept separate in different wings. Staff segregation was also enforced, with no males working in female wards and vice versa. Patients were not permitted to dress in their own clothes.

During the early decades, the hospital (and its contemporaries) served as a custodial institution. In a nutshell; patients were brought here to protect the public by removing them from situations in which they could harm themselves or others. The importance of strict routine was demanded and rationalised as essential for maintaining order among the patients. Because the hospital was overcrowded, there was little regard for a patient’s personal space. According to reports, there were only a few inches between patients’ beds in the wards. The overcrowding in the dayrooms was described as “like a scene from hell.”

Treatment and support work were secondary concerns, if they were even considered at all. “Treatment” and rehabilitation were not prioritised; most people were brought here by their families with little hope of ever leaving. During these early years, the majority of treatments were “shock treatments,” such as electro convulsive and insulin therapy. Pharmaceutical drug treatments eventually took their place.

?Reform arrives in the 1950s

When the spotlight was turned on these old institutes in the 1950s, reform came. Significant changes were implemented to improve living conditions, patient care, and treatment plans. The hospital took steps to shift its focus from isolation to patient care and reintegration into society

There is much disagreement about how much progress was made. Surprisingly, hospital staff gave testimony that there was significant improvement between the 1950s and 1970s. However, official inspections in the 1980s revealed serious overcrowding and hygiene issues.

Regardless of any potential improvements, Asylum E served as a painful reminder of decades of institutionalised mistreatment of society’s most vulnerable members. Around the turn of the century, the hospital closed its doors. The property was sold several years ago, but there are no visible signs of development.