Historical look at Temple Street Children’s Hospital

A DOUBLE launch was held recently to mark the history of one of the city’s most famous hospitals.

The launch of

‘Temple Street Children’s Hospital: An Illustrated History’, and an associated exhibition of hospital memorabilia, took place at the Little Museum of Dublin, St Stephen’s Green.

The book, written by local historian and archivist, Dr Barry Kennerk, takes a nostalgic look at how a dispensary set up in 1872 to care for Dublin’s poor has since become one of Ireland’s best recognised children’s hospitals.

The stories of Temple Street are as rich as they are varied, form the nurses who used to smuggle

‘Penny Horribles’ into the wards, to the child whose journey to Dublin took seven hours on a turf-fired train.

Drawn on interviews with past patients, retired staff members and a wealth of unseen photographs, the book takes a unique and insightful look past the hall door to reveal how a building that started life as a private residence has since become a world-class hospital.

In her foreword, Northside author Cecelia Ahern writes:

“The angels in Temple Street have kept us going. Their everyday has been to care, to help, to heal, to comfort. We bring babies into this world and we rely so much on those in the wards to help keep them there.

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Dr Kennerk told Northside People:

“Many of the items photographed for the book are on display at the museum.

“These include a rare visitors’ book with the names of Taoiseach and President, Ã?amon de Valera, and Dublin Lord Mayor Alfie Byrne, as well as the ceremonial key used by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid when he opened the hospital’s speech and audiology centre in 1964.

“Some of the rarer items include a 1936 chalice made by Gunning & Son and a large rocking horse made from Brazilian Parana pine.

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The Temple Street exhibition, entitled

‘Beyond the Hall Door – Life at Temple Street Children’s Hospital, 1879-1979’, and which features toys, documents and other items of interest, runs at the Little Museum until the end of November.

Mona Baker, chief executive of Temple Street, and Eilish Hardiman, who heads up the new children’s hospital project, were among the large group attending the double launch.

Harmony Knights, a 12-piece male choir, and Irish Youth Music Awards winner Niamh Crowther, who wrote a song especially for the occasion, provided the music.
RTÃ? broadcaster Joe Duffy was guest speaker and recounted his own experiences of the hospital.

Dr Kennerk (PhD) works at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital where he is resident historian and archivist.

An accredited genealogist, he is the author of three previous books. The most recent –

‘Moore Street: The Story of Dublin’s Market District’ – was a Christmas bestseller in 2012.

‘Temple Street Children’s Hospital: An Illustrated History’ is published by New Island and is available in all good bookshops nationwide (RRP:

?¬24.99).