Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 8, DIA-England

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DUBLIN.
Dublin. Denny; the Female Penitentiary, on the North Circular
Road ; another under the same name on the South Circular
Road, near Baggot Street, and the Lock Penitentiary, for
the special reception of penitents from the Lock Hospi¬
tal ; two under the management of Catholics, viz. the
General Asylum, in Townshend Street, and the asylum in
Bow Street. This latter has something romantic connect¬
ed with its origin. The founder, a merchant of the name
of Dillon, had been exposed, when an infant, at the door
of a bricklayer, who preserved him, and taught him his
trade. On arriving at years of maturity, he was accosted,
while returning homewards, by an unfortunate street¬
walker. Instead of yielding to her allurements, he per¬
suaded her to relinquish her abandoned line of life, and
engaged to provide her with the means of subsistence till
a permanent asylum could be procured. While thus oc¬
cupied he was recognised by his parents, and succeeded
to a considerable estate, part of which he devoted to the
endowment of this asylum. A penitentiary has also been
opened on the South Circular Road, for females discharged
from prison, until means of honest employment present
themselves.
Among the asylums for destitute children, the Foundling
Hospital was by much the most extensive. It was opened
in 1730 for destitute children of every age, but afterwards
limited to the reception of those under a year old, who are
sent to nurse in the country until old enough to be instruct¬
ed. WTien arrived at a suitable age, they are apprenticed.
The institution was maintained partly by voluntary contri¬
butions, partly by a local tax on Dublin, but chiefly by large
parliamentary grants, whichhavebeen gradually diminished
for several }'ears past, and restraints put on the admission
of children. The average number of children admitted
for twenty years up to 1825 was 2000. Dr Bell’s system
of education is adopted in the schools. The buildings,
with large gardens attached to them, are situated in a
healthy and elevated situation in the west of Dublin.
The Blue Coat Hospital was originally intended as a place
of refuge for all the poor in the city. This object being
soon found impracticable, it was reduced to an asylum for
aged citizens and their orphan sons, and ultimately con¬
fined to this last-named class. The buildings in Oxman-
town originally covered a considerable space; and previ¬
ously to the building of the parliament house in College
Green the parliament held its sittings there. The pre¬
sent edifice is built nearly on the site of the former. It
consists of an elegant centre, with detached wings, one
used as a chapel. Of 120 boys it receives, fifty-eight are
named by the corporation, fifty by the governors of Erasmus
Smith’s schools, ten by the Bishop of Meath as trustee to a
bequest, and two by the incumbent of St Werburghs on a
similar title. They are educated in the tenets of the Pro¬
testant church, and apprenticed to Protestant masters.
The Hibernian Nursery in the Park supports and educates
the children of soldiers. A preference is given to those
whose fathers have been killed, or died on foreign stations.
The buildings, which are spacious, have gardens and exer¬
cising ground attached to them ; and the boys, in addition
to the usual routine of scholastic instruction, are trained
to the rudiments of military tactics. On the southern
quay, near Ringsend, is the Hibernian Marine School, in¬
stituted for sailors’ children. It consists of a centre build¬
ing and two wings, the latter containing the school and
chapel. The age of admission is six years, and the course of
instruction nautical. At a proper age the pupils are placed
in the royal navy, or apprenticed to merchants, who take
them without fee. The number of boys was 180; but it
has been contracted in consequence of the reduction of
the parliamentary grant. The Bedford Asylum, for in¬
dustrious children, is one of the existing branches of the
House of Industry. It forms three sides of a square, Du
and contains apartments for 390 children of both sexes'^
in which they are taught various kinds of useful works!
The teachers are paid by a portion of the profits of the
children’s labour in lieu of salary. The principal esta¬
blishment for female orphans is that on the North Circular
Road, originating with two benevolent ladies, who formed
an institution for maintaining female orphans under ten
years old. The funds were soon considerably augmented
by the exertions of the celebrated Dean Kirwan, whose
appeals from the pulpit for several years brought in a large
additional income. It is now supported by subscriptions,
charity sermons, and a grant of public money. It can
accommodate 160 children, who are educated for servants,
and apprenticed at a proper age. The freemasons of Ire¬
land formed an institution in 1797 for the support of female
orphans of the craft. It supports about twenty children.
In Pleasants’ Asylum twenty female Protestant children
are maintained and educated; and, when of age, receive
a handsome portion on marrying conformably with the
rules laid down in the founder’s will. Most of the places
of religious worship have attached to them schools, in
which a certain number of the destitute children of the
parishioners, chiefly orphans, are maintained by the con¬
tributions of the benevolent part of the congregation.
The progress of disease is combated, and the sufferings
from accidental injuries assuaged, by means of numerous
infirmaries and dispensaries. Of the former, the most
extensive of those which take in cases of all kinds, sur¬
gical and medical, is Stevens’ Hospital. It was founded
by the bequest of a physician wdiose name it bears, and
erected by his sister, who having been left a life interest
in the property previously to its being applied to its final
purpose, immediately devoted the greater part of it to
fulfil her brother’s intentions, reserving to herself only
L.120 per annum, and apartments in the hospital. In ad¬
dition to the original estate, and to other contributions
and bequests, it receives a grant of public money; through
all which means, its income, amounting to L.2200 per
annum, supports about 200 beds. The Meath Hospital,
originally built on the Coombe, for the benefit of the
liberties of Dublin, and afterwards converted into a county
hospital by act of parliament, has been transferred from its
former confined and low situation to another in the outlets,
where a large building was erected for it, chiefly through
the munificence of Mr Thomas Pleasants, who contributed
L.6000 towards its building and maintenance. Its annual
income exceeds L.1000. The medical officers at first re¬
ceived salaries of L.100 each, which they have resigned
for the benefit of the institution. The hospital on the
Coombe, after having been closed for some time, has been
restored to its former purpose by voluntary subscriptions.
The Charitable Infirmary, in Jarvis Street, the oldest in
Dublin, and opened at first in Cook Street by the contri¬
butions and exertions of a few gentlemen of the medical
profession, -was transferred to its present situation in 1792.
It is capable of accommodating fifty patients, but the state
of its funds seldom admits of more than thirty. The
Royal Military Infirmary in the Phoenix Park, near its en¬
trance, is a general infirmary for the army. The edifice,
though plain, is much admired for the elegance of its pro¬
portions. The interior is provided with everything requi¬
site for such an institution. The total annual expense of
each patient is estimated at L.33, which is defrayed by a
public grant, and by stoppages of the soldiers’ pay while
in hospital. Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital is appropriated
exclusively to medical cases, for the instruction of the
pupils attending the professors of the College of Physi¬
cians. The Richmond Hospital, a part of the House of
Industry, and Mercer’s Hospital, founded by a benevolent