Mercy Hospital
Jim Corbett takes a look at Cork’s Mercy University Hospital
The city of Cork has always been a maritime city and was founded virtually in the water of the harbour. The older parts of the city sit on the delta of the River Lee, a marshy area once covered with many small islands. The city’s earliest buildings were almost all built on these islands and joined together by bridges and reclaimed areas of land.
It is hardly surprising that with such a long history Cork has some fine old buildings. Most of these were built in the early 19th century, especially the University of Cork and St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, but most other church buildings are of mid-19th century vintage or later. But there is one major building which predates, or has outlasted, most of the city’s main sites. That of the Mercy Hospital.
In the mid-18th century, Cork City Council decided that with its growing status and wealth it would be fitting to have a significant building, which would be the Mansion House, or residence of the lord mayor. So they looked around for a suitable architect and came up with a rising young Irishman called Davis Ducart who had a successful portfolio of other large house commissions. Work duly began in 1768 but Ducart’s initial estimates of £2,000 cost and two-year building time, would both substantially overrun. The first lord mayor to live in the Mansion House was James Chatterton and he didn’t move in until 1773, by which time the costs had doubled.
The best of furniture and carpets were purchased and it was not too long before the Mansion House became renowned for its dances, balls and receptions to which all the aristocracy and elite were invited. And for these parties no expense was spared when it came to creating complete sets of specially designed and decorated dinner services. Now known as the Mansion House Plate, they can still be found in local fine art auction sales from time to time. A succession of lord mayors lived at the residence until the repair bills caused such difficulty that the council eventually decided, in 1843, to vacate the building and rent it out.
The Vincentian fathers quickly took over the lease, using the building as a school and seminary, as it was conveniently placed for their major church and house nearby. The 1840s were dreadful years for Cork and Ireland in general, as we experienced the Great Famine between 1845 and 1849. The terrible loss of life, estimates put deaths at 1 million and emigration at another million, and the subsequent economic depression made the undertaking of any enterprise extremely difficult. In the mid 1850s the Vincentians relinquished their lease.
Around the same time, Fr John James Murphy of St Peter and Paul’s Church, was harbouring a wish to establish a church for the poor people of Cork. He was a colourful character and a member of the Murphy brewing and trading family. He was known as the "Black Eagle of the North" arising from his time during his early life trading furs with the Algonquin tribe in Canada. On his return he was ordained and sent to Liverpool from where, after a few years, he was recalled to Cork when a family member became Bishop.
Fr Murphy was a wealthy man and paid to build an impressive new church of St Peter and Paul and also paid to build a convent in the North Infirmary (now a hotel). And
so it was in 1857 that he purchased the lease of the Mansion House and asked the Sisters of Mercy to open a hospital there.
As soon as was possible, Sister Josephine Warde led a team of six Sisters of Mercy into the hospital where they immediately set about cleaning, redecorating and preparing for the admission of patients.
On St Patrick’s Day 1857, a small advert appeared in the Constitution newspaper (now the Irish Examiner) notifying the people of Cork that the sisters had opened the hospital for the treatment of the deserving poor and seeking subscriptions to defray the costs of provision. The first and largest donor was Fr Murphy. On that first St Patrick’s Day seven patients were admitted. The original admission book is displayed in the hospital to this day.
The hospital became a great success. Soon thousands, then tens of thousands of patients found their way to the hospital where the classical architecture and fixtures of the old Mansion House found a new use. The Mayor’s drawing room was converted into a ward, as was his fine second floor ballroom.
On its second floor landing there was once a statue of Sir Robert Walpole, but the Sisters quickly changed that by moving Sir Robert to Cork’s Crawford Gallery nearby and replacing him with a much more appropriate and impressive statue of the Blessed Virgin.
Over the years the Sisters bought up surrounding properties and began a series of building projects which slowly filled the whole of two city blocks. Since a huge new ward block was opened in 1998 there are no longer any inpatient beds in the old Mansion House, but it remains protected, refurbished and in constant daily use. Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and administrative departments now fill the spaces where once ritzy balls and extensive dinners took place. The Mansion House is surrounded by the modern 300 plus beds of the Mercy University Hospital in which the very best public hospital services continue
“Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and administrative departments now fill the spaces where once ritzy balls and extensive dinners took place”
to be provided. But the old Mansion House still provides a tangible link to the past. In 2007, on the occasion of the hospital’s 150th anniversary, the Mansion House returned to its former use when the Lord Mayor of Cork returned for one night to host a celebratory dinner in the dining room of his predecessors.
The Sisters of Mercy have always maintained a residence in the hospital, but sadly their numbers have declined. The matrons and sisters of the hospital have held a dear and respected place in the hearts of Cork people, but as their numbers became fewer and the sisters themselves increased in age it was found that by 2004 it was no longer possible to provide sisters as nursing staff nor as matron. The last religious matron was Sr Laurentia Roche who retired in 2018, although she continued to live in the hospital convent until 2018 along with other sisters who had also lived their for decades.
In 2018 the Order decided that it was time for the sisters to withdraw from the Hospital Convent to the Mother House at St Maries of the Isles in the city.
Despite the loss of the daily presence of the sisters, Mercy University Hospital remains a jewel in the heart of Cork city and while its reputation for care and hospitality is legendary it can probably be agreed that it is a much finer adornment for the city than in its previous role as the Lord Mayor’s party centre!