1967 – New Coombe Hospital, Cork Street, Dublin

Architect: TP Kennedy & Partners

2902

The idea of building a new hospital was first looked at in 1931 as it was clear that the old Coombe Lying-In Hospital could not meet increasing demand. However, plans for a new hospital had to be shelved due to the outbreak of war. The new site in Dolphins Barn was purchased in 1946 for £22,000. The gradual swing from home to hospital births made the need for a new hospital even more urgent and, in 1959, the Hospital Board were finally given permission from the Minister for Health to commence building.

While recognising the need for practicality and the strictest hygiene, the architect Thomas P. Kennedy deliberately designed the room windows to give the impression of ’home’ rather than ‘hospital’. The Irish Times reported that it was “…to make the hospital appear to be just a place, rather like home, where a woman spends a few days having a baby, only because in the hospital there are certain facilities she would not find in her home”.

The hospital cost £900,000 to build, had 265 beds – twice the capacity of the old hospital, and was officially opened on the 15th July 1967.

Published October 6, 2024