Massive and deteriorated, this black-brick
building was formally an Irish asylum that
was opened in the 1800s.
The excessive, colourful decay was too enticing
to miss, so on the second day of our recent
trip, we headed onto the spanning grounds
to see what remained.
We could spot the property from a mile off
as we approached it on the edge of a rural
town.
The black material used to construct the building
was typical for asylums in Ireland.
On our first day in the country, we had seen
another asylum with identical theming.
To the locals, the historically dark structure
seems almost invisible.
Dog walkers passed us by every minute without
even glancing at the site, obviously used
to it’s ominous presence.
With the grass being trimmed at the front
recently, we decided to head around the rear
side of the mental institution to look for
a way inside.
Here, the land was neglected and overgrown,
so within minutes we could find multiple opportunities
for entry.
Immediately, we were placed in a room with
old design merged with long-term disuse.
There were a consistent amount of spaces like
this in the asylum with half walls, some of
which we assume are wards, but others might
be offices.
This is one of those places where it has been
stripped of items and equipment for many years,
but it’s the history and abandoned look
that give it it’s interest.
Therefore, we have to look intently for highlights
except for the constant level of idealised
natural decay.
On the lower floors, we sighted some cells
where mentally ill patients would have been
held during the unfair treatment of their
beings in our past.
Except for these details, we started to see
increasing levels of graffiti and vandalism,
so we chose to head upwards, because only
the bottom level was boarded up.
Much more light was already creeping in as
we ventured upstairs.
Away from the main building, a small T shaped
chapel is located, surrounded by flowers.
We were quite interested in gaining access
to the small house of God but it deemed impossible.
It was sealed tight.
Luckily, some brief gaps in the stained glass
was enough room for us to lift our camera
on the tripod to get a glimpse of the internals
of the church.
We could see stained glass windows and pews,
but also deliberate damage, which was a pity.
Huge graffiti tags are also dominating the
outside of the church, the type that could
be easily cleaned if a slight bit of attention
was shown to the property.
The asylum opened it’s doors in the late
1860s, known as a District Lunatic Asylum.
It operated for over 130 years as a mental
hospital, being one of the largest public
structures in the county it is based in.
There is an array of darkness hidden under
each chipping of paint however, because the
asylum has many issues.
Firstly, it was extremely overcrowded, being
described with more than 70 beds in one ward,
with only inches between each bed.
Being highly routinised, the hospital used
all types of therapy at the time, such as
electric shock and insulin therapy.
One treatment that wasn’t around was drug
therapy, so violent, disturbed patients had
to be restrained physically and abusively.
Now, we are looking at the asylum’s main
hall which has recently suffered from a collapse
onto the stage.
This area would have mainly been used as a
gathering area, but also the canteen.
It seems that in another era, vibrant colours
were painted on the now forgotten walls, having
faded away since it closed in 2002.
Some rooms were unrecognisable, but this space
was clearly for the kitchens, where meals
were prepared for the patients and staff.
We wonder what the main hall would have looked
like with the amount of patients the asylum
took in, and whether some would have to eat
and drink elsewhere, simple because there
wasn’t enough room.
It was somewhere around the second floor that
the main reason we had visited the asylum
was beginning to show.
The decay was incredible, and some of the
best we have seen so far.
On the bright walls, we could notice every
layer of wallpaper that had been rolled on
the peeling walls, as the top layer had come
off, revealing the even older layers behind.
When it was open, the hospital was split into
two, as males and females were completely
segregated.
From past interviews with workers from roughly
the 1940s, apparently the female ward was
much tidier in appearance than the male section.
Only the same genders were allowed to work
in each side, so when a female cleaner was
the first to operate in the male end of the
asylum, she noticed these differences, with
the female side boasting curtains for example.
In the late 1970s, 30 years before the hospital
closed down, a nurse documented that there
were many changes to the asylum that were
positive.
According to her, patients were allowed three
to four course meals, and to wear their own
clothes.
It seemed that the expansive site was losing
it’s past darkness following trends from
other hospitals that would have been more
sanitary and friendly places.
As we reached the top floor of the property,
we were still searching for stunning decaying
scenes like these.
They weren’t hard to find, as there was
a good deal of water seeping in through the
roof, causing the progressive deterioration.
Some parts of the property had been accessed
by vandals for a longer period of time than
others.
Pointless graffiti covered the walls in some
rooms, from locals that took advantage of
the unguarded asylum neighbouring them.
It was time to take our leave from the huge
site.
Finding our exit was actually a lot trickier
than expected, but the complex is like a maze
when you have never visited previously.
There are no plans on the mental hospital
whatsoever.
Utter neglection has been the reason for the
building’s demise but some would say this
is a positive outcome, for a structure that
endured so much horror in it’s lifespan.
With the finish of this episode, we also conclude
our Ireland trip from Summer 2019.
It is a country with infinite, disregarded
history that we hope to visit again in the
future.
In the centre of a city lies a large vacant
cinema.
We have been trying to enter the property
for years, and when we heard it had opened
up a few months ago, we couldn’t miss out
on the original features that are still inside.
Thanks for watching our latest episode.
This was the last bit of footage filmed on
our Ireland trip.
You can watch the whole series linked in the
description!
See you next time!
