LIMERICK DISTRICT LUNATIC Asylum was opened in 1827.

It put Ireland as one of the first countries to create such an institution.

It was built to house 150 patients who were often referred to as ‘lunatics’, ‘imbeciles’ or ‘idiots’.

Just after it opened its doors, the institution was at over double capacity and two decades later there were more than 1,000 people living there.

The reasons they were there varied – monomania, melancholia, epilepsy and even sunstroke. The committal forms, of which there are about 10,000, are in the process of being archived along with thousands of other records from the now defunct hospital.

When it closed down, its name was changed to St Joseph’s Hospital.

Photographer Donal Moloney visited the largely-decaying building recently and has brought these wonderful shots of decay to us.

Exterior

Staircase

Art and Decor

Bedrooms

Inside a Room

Bathroom

Shower Room

Left to Ruin

A Different Life

Exit

Dorm Room

Abandoned Toys

Care Room

Hospital

Prayer

Chapel

See more of Donal’s work on his website and his Facebook page. 

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