ST GABRIELS NATIONAL SCHOOL – COWPER STREET STONEYBATTER
Cowper Street was laid out c.1890 and developed by the Dublin Artisan Dwelling Company, who arranged the streets and cul-de-sacs west of Aughrim Street.
In 1894, Father Burke bought a site from the D.A.D.Co. and Lady Mount Temple on the south side of Cowper Street, and there built schools for boys and girls and two infant schools at a cost of £8,000. The schools were designed by Walter Glynn Doolin, assisted by R.M. Butler, and were opened in 1895.
Saint Gabriel’s school is of social significance to the local community who attended the school, and is also of architectural and technical interest, with red brick and terracotta ornament.
THIS IS NOW THE RICHMOND EDUCATION AND EVENT CENTRE – ORIGINALLY THE RICHMOND SURGICAL HOSPITAL
I have found it very difficult to get good photographs of this building mainly because of obstacles and locked gates.
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 1.
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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