In 1891, Dublin Medical Mission was established with a view to working amongst the poor of Dublin. Its first premises were ‘two small rooms at Inns Quay’, and it moved to No.6 Chancery Place in 1893. As the number of patients increased, it became necessary to extend the building and the neighbouring building was taken over. The mission was employed as a training facility for missionaries who went to work in Africa, Asia and South America. Designed by George Palmer Beater, this elaborate building incorporates No.5 and No.6 Chancery Street, and No.31 and No.32 Charles Street West, and makes a strong impression on the streetscape of the former. Its red brick, sandstone and terracotta detailing are well executed, testament to the skill of stone masons and brick workers at the time. The ornate appearance of the façade is belied by its regularity and well proportioned fenestration pattern.
The Dublin Christian Mission is the amalgamation of three older Missions located in Dublin, Ireland in 1965: the Dublin City Mission (founded 1828), the Dublin Medical Mission (1891) and the Dublin Mission (1953). It is the second oldest in the world.
In 1826, David Nasmith founded his first city mission in Glasgow. Two years later, Naismith founded the Dublin City Mission at Merchants Hall, Wellington Quay in Dublin, a similar organization. Other missions followed throughout Naismith’s life, including one in London in 1835.
In 1879, the Mission relocated to Anglesea Street, constructing a main hall and a number of offices. By 1903, seventy five years after its founding, the Dublin Mission had eleven full-time missionaries under the leadership of Rev. J.C. Irwin.
In December 1939, the Mission once again relocated to newly built headquarters in Cashel Road, Crumlin, an area which had grown to some 13,000 residents in the past thirty years. This area was chosen because the Dublin Corporation had built some three to four thousand houses for working-class families nearby. Another factor came from a fall in attendance at the location at Anglesea Street as people migrated from the centre of the city. Crumlin Hall was later sold to the Brethren Assembly in the area. Some years after it was sold again to the Dublin Corporation, the current property owner.
Dublin Christian MIssion continues services today, operating the largest independent Christian Youth work in the city of Dublin with over 300 young people making over 1,000 calls to the Youth Centre at 5&6 Chancery Place, Dublin 7. The homeless and hungry are fed at the drop in centre at 28 Pearse Street. Many of those attending for the food and clothing have a chaotic lifestyle of dependence on drugs or alcohol.
MORE IMAGES OF THE RICHMOND EDUCATION CENTRE – PREVIOUSLY THE RICHMOND SURGICAL HOSPITAL
In the past have found it very difficult to get good photographs of this building mainly because of obstacles and locked gates.
Today I thought that my luck had changed as I had the correct camera and lens and the lighting was perfect but unfortunately the camera was set to silent shutter and f22 and most of the images were badly blurred or distorted especially if there was any movement within the frame. I have never used silent shutter before and do not know why the camera was set to silent shutter.
The building and the site has a rich history. The site was first built on by the Benedictine Nuns who opened a convent in 1688 in what was known as a poor area of Dublin. In 1772, a new Act of Parliament sought to further improve the area by establishing hospitals, which were to be known as ’Houses of Industry’. Subsequently, the following hospital facilities were built and opened on the site: Hardwicke Fever Hospital (1803), The Richmond Surgical Hospital (1811), the Whitworth Medical Hospital (1817) and The Richmond Lunatic Asylum (1815). Many notable events happened in The Richmond Surgical hospital.
The first operation in Ireland using Chloroform took place here. The current Richmond Hospital building was built in 1897 at an estimated cost of £25,000, paid for by the donations of a number of benefactors.
The Richmond Surgical Hospital officially opened on Saturday, 20th April 1901 and for 86 years it maintained a reputation of being at the forefront of surgical care in Ireland and was widely known for it’s highly reputed surgeons and nurses.
The Richmond Hospital closed its doors as a hospital in 1987. The building has had various functions since. In 1996 the building was leased by the Office of Public Works for use as a courthouse which continued for many years. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) purchased the building for its members in 2013, with the vision of creating one of Ireland’s most distinctive and welcoming education and event centres.
After years of planning and significant investment, the INMO opened The Richmond Education and Event Centre on 20th April 2018 – 117 years to the day since the building was originally opened, providing Dublin with a new education, meetings and events venue offering a unique mix of old world charm and contemporary luxury.
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