The Coombe Hospital, Dublin

 The Coombe.

The Coombe Hospital, usually just called the Coombe, is a modern hospital standing in a completely different location from its original namesake and predecessor which was located at 81-84, The Coombe.

The original Coombe Hospital was established by Mrs. Margaret Boyle and other benefactors and it officially opened in 1829, founded in part because two women and their newborn children had perished in a snowstorm while trying to get to the Rotunda Hospital at Parnell Square in 1825.

It was known as The Coombe Lying-In Hospital.

Remarkably the front entrance and Portico are preserved in their original location at the Coombe.

The Coombe Hospital - Our History.

Discover Ireland coombe-memorial

It never ceases to amaze me how much of Ireland's past is hidden in Ireland's present and within plain sight if only we take the time to stop to look.

rte.ie-archives 1976 : Celebrating the Coombe Hospital.

Historically, the Coombe Lying-in Hospital which officially opened in 1829 had itself superseded yet another hospital on this site which had moved elsewhere, The Meath Hospital and County Dublin Infirmary, whose foundation Stone was laid in 1770 by one Lord Brabazon.

Fountain Resource Group : Local History

Explanatory and Memorial Plaque on the Monument.

Keep the wheels turning.

A few random Pictures from Balbriggan, County Dublin

Balbriggan 

I'm just posting a quick few snaps from around beautiful Balbriggan, County Dublin.

Balrothery Rural District Council 1915 sign.

This RDC helped in the rebuilding of Balbriggan after the Black and Tans destroyed much of the town in 1920.

Breamore Castle

a fine example of an 

Elizabethan/Jacobian style fortified house

Balbriggan Harbour Lighthouse.

An old Milk Churn. I can just about remember the Dairyman collecting these from the farms on Horse and Cart.

The Lawless/Gibbons Memorial at Bridge Street. 

Murdered by British Crown Forces.

Great Harwood Industrial and Co-Operative Provision Society Limited, 1864.

Ahhhhhh...  The days before anarchic Capitalism and rampant Consumerism.

The River Bracken flowing under the Dublin Rail line viaduct.

Main Street.

1800's Napoleonic era Martello Tower.

This fantastic photo is by Brid O'Neill.

The River Bracken.

Night Sky at Balbriggan Strand.

Balbriggan Harbour.

Martello Tower.

A pair of Buzzards circling high above the town. At one stage there was just 260 breeding pairs of this large predatory bird left in Ireland.

Over the last decade or so these beautiful raptors have made a remarkable recovery in numbers.

Estd. 1780 ; Smyth & Co Ltd, Hosiery Balbriggan.

Keep the wheels turning.

Saint George's Church of Ireland.

Established under the Reverend George Hamilton despite opposition from the Rectors of Balrothery.

It appears to be constructed in the manner typical of many Board of First Fruit Churches.

Foundation stone laid on 23th July 1813.