Grangegorman Histories is a public history project of Dublin City Council, Grangegorman Development Agency, HSE, Local Communities, National Archives, Royal Irish Academy and TU Dublin. Over the past 250 years, Grangegorman, on the northside of Dublin city centre, has been the site of a workhouse, a large psychiatric hospital and a prison and now integrating back into the city as a health and education campus for the HSE, TU Dublin and the local community. Grangegorman Histories works to uncover, catalogue and commemorate the history of this site and its surrounding area. The historical buildings of Grangegorman stand as architectural monuments to its past and complex history. This podcast series will explore histories of confinement, the treatment of people with mental illnesses and other histories of interest of this site. Each episode is led by a different expert focused on an identified building or history of the site. Episodes will be added to the series over the years 2021-2025.

Grangegorman Histories

In this Podcast, Megan Brien, historian of design and interior architecture, explores the history of the turret clock in the Clocktower building at Grangegorman on the northside of Dublin’s city centre. With horologists Julian Cosby and David Boles, Megan reveals the unique features of this extraordinary timepiece: the oldest known flat-bed clock in the world.

Grangegorman Histories is a public history project of Dublin City Council, Grangegorman Development Agency, HSE, Local Communities, National Archives, Royal Irish Academy and TU Dublin. To learn more see www.grangegormanhistories.ie

Grangegorman Histories: 'Timepiece'

‘Instituting Grangegorman’ is the second in the Grangegorman Histories podcast series exploring the histories of the Grangegorman area of north, inner-city Dublin. Over the past 250 years, Grangegorman has been the site of a workhouse, a prison and a large psychiatric hospital and now this site is being redeveloped as a health and education campus for the HSE, TU Dublin and the local community. This podcast explores the history of the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, now the recently restored TU Dublin Lower House. 
Join architectural historian, Patrick Quinlan, as he explores the chequered career of this landmark building: a story of optimistic conception and utilitarian service, of neglect, decline and demise, culminating in the latest chapter of rebirth as a valued architectural and historical landmark. 
The architect of the original asylum building was Francis Johnston, most noted as the architect of the General Post Office on O’Connell Street, Dublin and the Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle. He designed and constructed the building, which opened in 1814, in a spirit of optimism as a national solution to the shameful conditions in which people with mental illnesses were confined in prisons, bridewells and houses of industry all over Ireland.
The original design and construction included architectural innovations and features that were informed by moral treatment: a progressive and humane approach to the care of people with mental illness popular during the early 19th century. However, by the later 20th century, the building became synonymous with the worst aspects of institutionalisation. Its closure in 1989 was heralded as  ‘symbolic of a revolution in healthcare’; its ‘dungeon-like architecture’ fit only for demolition. Three quarters of the building was levelled but Johnston’s entrance front survived. It endured two further decades of decay and dereliction before it was identified as a building of architectural, social and historical importance and worthy of protection. It has become part of the regeneration of the Grangegorman site, transforming this former hospital complex. The building reopened in 2021, ready to write its next chapter as a key centre for student services on the new TU Dublin Grangegorman campus. 
About the podcaster: 
Patrick Quinlan, B.Arch, ARB, MUBC
Patrick holds a Masters in Urban and Building Conservation from UCD and is a practicing architect with professional experience spanning from modern healthcare to the conservation and reuse of a range of historic structures. His recently published Walls of Containment, the Architecture and Landscapes of Lunacy  explores the history of Ireland’s legacy asylum sites through the lens of architectural history. Patrick is a past recipient of the RIBA Dissertation Commendation and is currently undertaking a PhD at Birkbeck, University of London.

Before you listen to the podcast, please note that some of the language that will be used in describing these histories is contemporaneous language of that historical period. This terminology is no longer acceptable. However, to give truth to these difficult histories, it is important to use the terminology of that time. It’s use is applied strictly within context.

Grangegorman Histories is a public history programme of research and shared discovery of the Grangegorman site and surrounding communities. Founding partners: Dublin City Council, Grangegorman Development Agency, HSE, Local Communities, National Archives, Royal Irish Academy and TU Dublin. 
Visit www.grangegormanhistories.ie.

Mixdown

Instituting Grangegorman

The Market was a significant element of the area in the hinterland of Grangegorman from 1863 when it opened first to 1973 when it was closed down. This talk by Dr Mary Muldowney and Dr Declan O'Brien includes extracts from oral history interviews, with a range of people who shared their memories of working in the Market as well as information about the local and national importance of this very rural enterprise in its busy urban setting. Representing different facets of the life of the Market, the contributors came from various parts of the city and country and shed a fascinating light on what was once such an important workplace.

This talk was delivered on 3 June as part of Revealing Grangegorman, a celebratory event organised by GDA, along with TU Dublin, HSE and Workday.

Grangegorman Histories is a public history programme of research and shared discovery of the Grangegorman site and surrounding communities. Founding partners: Dublin City Council, Grangegorman Development Agency, HSE, Local Communities, National Archives, Royal Irish Academy and TU Dublin. 
Visit www.grangegormanhistories.ie.

A Brief History of the Dublin Metropolitan Cattle Market

The Asylum Workshop: a performers perspective is the fourth in the Grangegorman Histories podcast series exploring the histories of the Grangegorman area of north, inner-city Dublin.

Evie O’Brien is an actor and performer. As a drama student at the Grangegorman campus of TU Dublin. Evie played a central role in the Asylum Workshop play, a documentary-drama written by playwright Colin Murphy, directed by Peter McDermott and performed by final year TU Dublin students in June 2023, supported by Grangegorman Histories.
In this short podcast, Evie shares her experience of how engaging with the play shaped her understanding of the history of the Grangegorman site as a one of the first TU Dublin students to move on to the site. She reflects on how mental health has been viewed in Ireland in the past, and how the physical buildings on Grangegorman serves as a reminder of the importance of dismantling the stigma that surrounds mental health in the future. 


The Asylum Workshop: a performers perspective

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hEireann is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is the principal learned society in Ireland and has over 420 members who are elected in recognition of their academic achievements.

The Royal Irish Academy, the academy for the sciences and humanities for the whole of Ireland will vigorously promote excellence in scholarship, recognise achievements in learning, direct research programmes and undertake its own research projects, particularly in areas relating to Ireland and its heritage.