The National Maternity Hospital ( ga, An tOspidéal Náisiúnta Máithreachais), popularly known as Holles Street Hospital, is a large
maternity hospital
A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most ...
in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The hospital is located at the eastern corner of
Merrion Square
Merrion Square () is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre.
History
The square was laid out in 1752 by the estate of Viscount FitzWilliam and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. The demand fo ...
, at its junction with Holles Street and Lower Mount Street in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. It is managed by
Ireland East Hospital Group
The Ireland East Hospital Group ( ga, Grúpa Ospidéal Oirthear na hÉireann) is one of the hospital groups established by the Health Service Executive in Ireland.
History
The grouping of hospitals was announced by the Minister for Health, James ...
.
History
![Antrim House, Merrion Square](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Antrim_House%2C_Merrion_Square.jpg)
The hospital was established through charitable donations in 1894 and received a Royal Charter, in line with other maternity hospitals in Dublin, in 1903. The Linen Guild, a charity to help mothers and babies in need of financial assistance, was established in 1912.
Elizabeth O'Farrell, a member of
Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan (; literally "The Women's Council" but calling themselves The Irishwomen's Council in English), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and d ...
, served as a midwife, training and working in Holles Street in the early years of the 20th century before carrying the white flag delivering the surrender at the
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...
in 1916. The hospital became the first such facility to benefit from the
Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake
The Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake was a lottery established in the Irish Free State in 1930 as the Irish Free State Hospitals' Sweepstake to finance hospitals. It is generally referred to as the Irish Sweepstake or Irish Sweepstakes, frequently ab ...
which funded extensive redevelopment in the 1930s. Antrim House, the former home of the
Earls of Antrim
Earl of Antrim is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of Ireland and both times for members of the MacDonnell family, originally of Scottish origins.
History
The MacDonells of Antrim descended from Sorley Boy MacDo ...
on Merrion Square, was demolished to facilitate the construction of the hospital by
G&T Crampton, in 1936. A new Charter was received in 1936 altering the governance of the hospital such that it was administered by a board consisting of the Archbishop of Dublin (or a representative) as chair of the board, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, two City Councillors and two nominees of the Minister of Health.
In 1998, Holles Street set up the ''Domino'' (Domiciliary Care In and Out of Hospital) and Home birth scheme through its team of community midwives. The National Maternity Hospital Foundation, a charity which raises funds for a number of projects in the hospital with special emphasis on the neo-natal intensive care unit, was established in 2012.
Controversy over involvement of the Religious Sisters of Charity
In May 2013 it was announced that the hospital would relocate to the site of
St. Vincent's University Hospital
St. Vincent's Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Ollscoile Naomh Uinseann) is a teaching hospital located at Elm Park, south of the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is at the junction of Merrion Road and Nutley Lane opposite the Merrion Centre, Dublin, Merrion ...
, Elm Park, a hospital founded by Mother Mary Aikenhead, foundress of the order
Religious Sisters of Charity The Religious Sisters of Charity or Irish Sisters of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Mary Aikenhead in Ireland on 15 January 1815. Its motto is ('The love Christ urges us on'; ).
The institute has its headquarters in Dub ...
, in 1834.
[
The new hospital was projected to cost €300 million, and be paid for by the Irish state. The trust ownership of the hospital associated with the Sisters of Charity (an order of ]Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
religious sisters) caused controversy. The Sisters of Charity had been involved in scandals related to abuse in Magdalene Laundries. The proposed hospital transfer raised questions about the role of the Catholic Church in Ireland
, native_name_lang = ga
, image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
, abbreviation =
, type ...
in the provision of healthcare in Ireland.
In April 2017, a former Master of the NMH, Dr Peter Boylan, resigned from the board over the influence of the Sisters on the new hospital.[ By 3 May 2017, a petition to oppose their becoming the sole owners had been signed by more than 100,000 people. A protest of 200 people took place outside the ]Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
on 20 April 2017.
The then–Master of the National Maternity Hospital, Rhona Mahony stated that the hospital would be independent and "the nuns will not be running this hospital, it will not be under Catholic ethos. It will be completely independent", and privately complained that "the feminists are going to unravel this fantastic hospital for women".
The Bishop of Elphin
The Bishop of Elphin (; ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other ...
, Kevin Doran
Kevin Doran (born 26 June 1953) is an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church and has served as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin, Bishop of Elphin since 13th July 2014.
Early life and education
Doran was born in Dublin in 1953. He was educated ...
said that the Religious Sisters of Charity would have to obey the rules of the Roman Catholic church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
if they became owners of the National Maternity Hospital, and to follow teachings on "the value of human life and the dignity and the ultimate destiny of the human person".
On 29 May 2017, in response to weeks of pressure and public outrage, the Sisters of Charity announced that they were ending their direct role in St Vincent's Healthcare Group and would not be involved in the ownership or management of the new hospital; the two sisters on the board resigned. Dr. Rhona Mahony, master of the National Maternity Hospital, said "The religious Sisters of Charity never sought to have a role in the operation of the new hospital and even in the absence of the Sisters planned withdrawal from clinical healthcare in Ireland the operational independence of the new hospital was always guaranteed under the terms of the Mulvey agreement which underpins all ensuing legal arrangements."
In 2022, ownership of the order's shares in SVHG was transferred to a newly formed company, St Vincent's Holdings. Concerns continued to be expressed about control and procedures available should the transfer of the National Maternity Hospital go through, especially as statements indicated that some procedures would be performed only "where clinically indicated" - precluding in vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...
and elective sterilisation or abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
services.
The current board of the National Maternity Hospital consists of 15 men (including a Roman Catholic priest), and ten women.
Controversy over mistaken abortion
In early 2019, a couple was advised that the baby the woman was carrying had a fatal foetal abnormality, Trisomy 18
A trisomy is a type of polysomy in which there are three instances of a particular chromosome, instead of the normal two. A trisomy is a type of aneuploidy (an abnormal number of chromosomes).
Description and causes
Most organisms that reprodu ...
. An abortion was performed at the National Maternity Hospital at sometime after 15 weeks. A series of genetic tests later found that was not the case, and that there had been a misdiagnosis. Aontú
Aontú (; "Unite") is an all-Ireland political party that was formally launched in January 2019, and operates in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ideologically, Aontú is opposed to abortion and combines elements of social con ...
TD Peadar Tóibín
Peadar Tóibín (; born 19 June 1974) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of Aontú since January 2019. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath West constituency since 2011. He previously served as Chair of the Committee on ...
stated that the family were shocked “by allegations that the medical professionals signing off on the abortions have a commercial interest in the companies that produced the fatally insufficient test”. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...
indicated the government would conduct an independent review.
Services
The hospital, which is the national referral centre for complicated pregnancies, premature and sick infants, delivers over 7,000 babies per year. The number of births it handles has increased by 50 per cent since the early 1990s.
In June 2019, the Holles Street Hospital began work on an extension to the labour and delivery unit while awaiting relocation to the new facility which is not expected to be completed until 2024.
Former masters
List of former Masters:
* 1885–1893 William Roe
* 1894–1908 P J Barry
* 1909–1922 Andrew J Horne
* 1923–1924 R T White
* 1924–1931 P T McArdle
* 1932–1941 J F Cunningham
* 1942–1948 Alex W Spain
* 1949–1955 Arthur P Barry
* 1956–1962 Charles F V Coyle
* 1963–1969 Kieran O’Driscoll
* 1970–1976 Declan Meagher
Dr. Declan J Meagher (1921-2019) was an Irish obstetrician, Master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, and a champion of women's reproductive health.
Career
In 1963, Meagher set up one of the country's first family planning clinics. T ...
* 1977–1983 Dermot W MacDonald
* 1984–1990 John M Stronge
* 1991–1997 Peter Boylan
Peter Boylan is a retired Irish consultant obstetrician, and former master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin (Holles Street Hospital).
He was born in Dublin to Henry Boylan and his wife Patricia ( Clancy). He was educated at St. Mary' ...
* 1998–2004 Declan Keane
* 2005–2011 Michael Robson
* 2012–2018 Rhona Mahony
* 2019–present Shane Higgins
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Hospitals in Dublin (city)
Maternity hospitals
2017 in Ireland
Political scandals in Ireland
1894 establishments in Ireland
Hospitals established in 1894
Health Service Executive hospitals
Maternity in Ireland