asylum

Flickr is sometimes amazing! In 2016 via David Mullen The cows have not mooved!

The Enniscorthy Guardian of December 9th 1893 had an account of amateur theatricals performed in "one of the spacious apartments of Enniscorthy Asylum" . The audience included the inmates. The pieces performed were the comedies "Which is Which" and "Orange Blossoms". "The musical selections were performed efficiently by the Asylum Band." At first I wondered if the pieces were performed by the inmates, but the article suggests it was organised by R.M.S., whatever or whoever that was.

Mr French / Lawrence / Eblana was on the railway bridge, seen in this photo from a little further back - catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000326204

in May 1900 the Enniscorthy Guardian reported on another bit of Am Dram. This time, "The Shaughraun", performed by attendants of the Asylum. There were 300 in the audience for the first performance, and 400 for the 2nd, but no mention of how many of these were inmates.

The best bit of the Asylum? The floors. That is according to Mr Slevin, engineer, who met the governors to complain about late payment to him and the contractor Mr Fortune. The governors immediately wrote 2 huge cheques (£813 to Mr Fortune and £169 7s 4d to Mr Slevin), and Mr Slevin chipped in with this:

Mr Slevin returned thanks to the governors and mentioned the fact that be had to deal with many asylums, but he never found a better equipped one than the Enniscorthy Asylum. He referred particularly to the magnificent floors which had recently been placed in the asylum. In the English or Scotch Asylums he had never seen better arrangements, and as regards accommodation for the lunatics he thought then were none like it in Ireland. He would recommend he system of flooring adopted in the Enniscorthy Asylum to the governors of similar institutions.

National Library of Ireland on The Commons Yes, where the airport was.

Yes the more northerly Mutts started as an USAF base .... and a dog kennel

St. Brigid’s Hospital
“The Connaught District Lunatic Asylum at Ballinasloe, which opened its doors in November 1833, initially served counties Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim, and was established under the Lunacy (Ireland) Act of 1821. It was one of 22 such institutions built between 1810 and 1870. The architect was William Murray, whose design was influenced by the panopticon concept devised by the Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The principle behind this layout was to enable the manager and his staff to occupy a central structure with radiating wings from which they could monitor and administer life within the institution. This arrangement allowed the wings to be viewed from the centre, while access was only possible from one wing to the others by passing through the centre.”

Isn’t that the same design used in many prisons, which of course this also was?

Why were there so many of these places back then, and so few today?
Were they really prisons for the unwanted?

Creepy.


More info here

www.ballinasloe.ie/news/st-brigids-hospital-a-history

You can enter, but cannot leave

maps.app.goo.gl/s35px1tQPFU4wR8t9?g_st=ic

Explore, if you dare

www.bcd-urbex.com/st-brigids-asylum-ballinasloe-ireland/

The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum was a Benevolent Asylum for the aged, infirm, and destitute operated by the Queensland Government in Australia. It was located at Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay and operated from 1865 to 1946.[1] The asylum occupied most of the current Dunwich township. There were many buildings with wards for men, women, and Asiatics. It had a kitchen, bakery, laundry, and other service buildings including a power station from 1926. It had a public hall, recreational facilities, and a visitor center for social activities. A farm with associated outbuildings provided meat and dairy products.[2] A 1913 map shows it occupying the coastal area from Dunwich Cemetery down to the present-day jetty and inland to approximately the present-day Mitchell Crescent and Barton Street. Swamps are shown beyond the boundaries.[7] The 'Aboriginal Gang' that worked the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum were the first Aboriginal people in Australia to receive equal wages. In 1944, after a 25-year campaign, the Aboriginal workers gained equal wages almost 20 years before anywhere else in Australia. The Asylum closed shortly after with the Aboriginal Gang only getting equal wages for one and a half years.[6] Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunwich_Benevolent_Asylum