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An exhibition, a joint partnership between the HSE and Monaghan County Museum, will be launched on 14th May 2015 by Ms. Heather Humphries, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

The exhibition is being delivered by Stair: an Irish Public History Company as part of the wider World Within Walls project.

The exhibition includes personal effects of past patients from St. Davnet’s Hospital. It will provide an engaging, interactive and valuable insight into the history of St. Davnet’s Hospital and its evolution from District Asylum, to Monaghan Mental Hospital and in the latter years St. Davnet’s Hospital to the services of today.

Abstracts from oral histories, medical instruments, a glass wall painted by the community, items of daily living and personal artefacts will make up this exciting and vibrant exhibition.

05 April 2015

World Within Walls: From Asylum to Contemporary Mental Health Services is a new book tracing the history and evolution of St. Davnet’s Hospital, Monaghan from District Asylum in 1869 to its current role as a modern community mental health campus.

The book, written by Anne MacLellan, Niamh Nic Ghabhann and Fiona Byrne recalls the history of St. Davnet’s through the hospital’s rich archival documents and the personal stories and memories of people connected to it. A number of people contributed to this narrative, including, staff, carers, individuals who experienced mental ill-health and those with family ties to the hospital. World Within Walls also has a chapter the architecture of St. Davnet’s, which reflects the changing ideas on design for healthcare over a period of about 150 years.

The book will be officially launched by Professor Brendan Kelly, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and historian of Irish psychiatry at  special event in the Iontas Theatre, Castleblayney on April 23.

Following the book launch the Iontas Centre will also host, 'Stories from the Front’, a theatrical performance which tells the personal stories of people who have experienced mental ill-health. Tikcets are free but booking is esstential.

Copies of the book will be available on the night. It will also be available in local shops at a cost of €25.

23rd Aug 2014

Inside St. Davnet’s will give the public an opportunity to engage with the history of the asylum in a real and hands-on way through sampling early patient menus and exploring the complex.

1pm:

A meal will be served in the St. Davnet’s canteen: this will be based on the patient menus from the 1920s. These patient menus were discovered in the archives as part of the ongoing research project at St. Davnet's, and have detailed instructions on the food for each day and also the portion sizes for men and women. The canteen staff at St. Davnet’s have very kindly agreed to step back in time and recreate a meal for the public to sample.

2.30pm:

After the meal a guided tour will take place in the complex. This will look at the buildings and how they reflect design for public health, and changing ideas about mental health care from the late 19th century to the present day. The function and architectural features of the buildings through different periods will be discussed. The tour will be lead by Dr. Niamh Nic Ghabhann, who is an architectural historian and researcher on the current 'World within Walls' project. 

All events are free of charge, however places for the meal are limited and pre-booking is essential. 

This event is funded by the HSE as part of the World Within Walls project. It is being delivered by Stair: An Irish Public History Company and is supported by the Monaghan County Heritage Office.

3rd May 2014

World within Walls is a project which aims to remember the histories of St. Davnet’s formerpsychiatric hospital in Monaghan town. The project is funded by the HSE and is being delivered byStair: An Irish Public History under the guidance of the HSE steering committee. The committee iscomprised of former senior staff, representatives from the local historical society, mental healthpractitioners and representation from the National Archives of Ireland.

St. Davnet’s was founded in 1869. Catering for the counties of Cavan and Monaghan, it was one of the many asylums built throughout Ireland in the 1800s.

The Community Day provided an opportunity for the public to meet with the project team. There was information on all aspects of the project including the planned exhibition, book, archiving project and oral history gathering. The event was informative and fun, with activities for young and old. There was the opportunity to share your views and get creative. During the day the project team gave talks and there will also be drop-in craft workshops. 

If you missed this event you can still get involved with the project through our art projects or the oral history project. You can also view slides from the day in the video below