1878 – Mageough Home for Aged Females, Rathmines, Dublin

A Miss Elizabeth Mageough died in 1869 and in her will she had directed that any residue left in her Will should go to fund “a suitable place for elderly ladies of the Protestant faith to live.”

Six Trustees were appointed, consisting of three clergy and three laity. They first met in 1871 and appointed J. Rawson Carroll as their architect who, after much disagreement within the Trustees, finally reached agreement with the Board on drawings similar to the completed building. A site was purchased from William Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple, known locally as “The Bloody Fields” due to burials there during the Irish Confederate Wars. After changes in the construction to bring the costs within budget, the quote of £16,770 from Moyers Builders of Portobello was accepted. The first residents moved in in November 1878. They were required to be “of good character and sobriety.”

The complex is built of red brick and slate in a Gothic Revival style. Thirty-nine houses, an infirmary and a Church of Ireland chapel were constructed surrounding a central green. The houses, chapel, infirmary, gate lodge, stone boundary walls, gate piers and gates are all protected structures. It is still run today as a residential complex for older people with 36 small homes.

Photo Copyright and Courtesy Jacobfrid