The Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown () is a

teaching hospital A teaching hospital or university hospital is a hospital or medical center that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities a ...

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is managed by RCSI Hospitals.

History

The hospital, which was initially established as a

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

sanitarium, was designed by Norman White and constructed by Sisk Builders. It was named in memory of the

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

leader,

James Connolly James Connolly (; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was a Scottish people, Scottish-born Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist, and trade union leader, executed for his part in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising against British rule i ...

, and officially opened as the James Connolly Memorial Hospital in 1955. Following the introduction of effective

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

treatment, the hospital was re-designated as a general hospital for the North West area of Dublin and re-opened as such in 1973. In 2005 a new accident and emergency unit, new operating theatres, new surgery facilities and a new intensive care unit were officially opened by the

Minister of State for Children The Minister of State for Children was a junior ministerial post in the Departments of Health and Children, Justice and Law Reform and Education and Skills of the Government of Ireland. The Minister of State worked together with the various se ...

, Brian Lenihan, who also announced that the hospital would be renamed the Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown. The government allocated 6.8 acres on the Abbotstown lands at Blanchardstown for the building of a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

under the care of the Daughters of Charity. This was a sister site to their hospice in

Raheny Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 AD (Mervyn Archdall (Irish antiquary), Mervyn Archdall). The district ...

. Construction works were completed in April 2011. A satellite facility for the

New Children's Hospital , the unnamed children's hospital remains under construction on the campus of St. James's Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, as a regional secondary and national tertiary centre. Referred to in planning documents simply as the new children's hospital ...

, providing outpatient facilities and an urgent care centre opened in summer 2019.

Teaching

The hospital provides clinical teaching as part of the

graduate entry program Graduate Medical Program (GMP), or sometimes also known as Graduate Entry Program (GEP) or Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM), are medical programs usually of 4-years duration where applicants are university graduates who have taken aptitude tests such ...

to medicine for the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...

References

External links

Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown
{{Authority control Blanchardstown Education in Fingal Teaching hospitals of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Hospital buildings completed in 1955 Hospitals established in 1955 Hospitals in Fingal Health Service Executive hospitals Tuberculosis sanatoria in Ireland 1955 establishments in Ireland