1953 – Cherry Orchard Fever Hospital, Ballyfermot, Dublin

Architect: Alan Hope

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Commissioned to replace the old Cork Street Fever Hospital. Originally this area of Ballyfermot was known as Blackditch which was a problem to certain members of the new hospital board, who felt that the placename evoked images of plague and the Black Death – not very suitable for a hospital dealing with infectious diseases. Accordingly on 3 May 1951 the Board resolved that “the title and address of the new Hospital now being built at Blackditch be the House of Recovery and Dublin Fever Hospital, Cherry Orchard, Palmerstown, Co. Dublin”. The hospital opened in November 1953.

The buildings and gardens covered 74 acres, with a total cost of building and equipping the new hospital at £958,578. There were 11 separate single-storey blocks of wards, an oratory, gate lodge, sports grounds, a swimming pool, and rooms for staff. Many of the low pavilion type buildings are still in use. The early years of the hospital witnessed high numbers of admissions of patients with poliomyelitis, diphtheria, measles, and tuberculous meningitis. By the 1980s the childhood immunisation programmes had reduced the incidence of infectious diseases, and the hospital has expanded the range of medical services it provides to include psychiatric and rehabilitation services.

The impression of the site is predominately low-rise, the dominant vertical emphasis is the water tower on the administrative block. The ward buildings are all single storeys – newer building have since been constructed on parts of the site but the original work of Alan Hope is still easily identifiable.

Published January 23, 2025 | Last Updated January 26, 2025