Asylum: Inside Grangegorman

by Brendan Kelly

In 1814, the Richmond Lunatic Asylum at Grangegorman in Dublin started an extraordinary programme of asylum building across Ireland, aimed at alleviating the suffering of people with mental illness who were homeless, in prison, or confined in appalling circumstances. By the mid-twentieth century, Ireland had proportionately more people in ‘mental hospitals’ than any other country in the world. On a given night, the number of people in Ireland’s psychiatric hospitals was more than double those in all our other institutions put prisons, laundries, mother and baby homes, industrial schools, orphanages.

What was the life of a patient in an asylum really like? Through letters, medical records and doctors' notes, Brendan Kelly gives us a glimpse inside Grangegorman and the lives of those who lived and worked there.

Written by Brendan Kelly and illustrated by Fidelma Slattery.

Genres: Medical, History

199 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2023

Reviews

[James Moran]

Lacks analysis Lacks analysis

[Laney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could be really interesting. The subject matter is certainly important and worthy of discussion. However the author seems to be so obsessed with documenting every person whom he encountered in the records he reviewed that he provides very little substantive detail on their actual experiences in Grangegorman beyond what their conditions and diagnosis and death dates were. What little contextual information is provided seems quite repetitive in that he reverts back to those same few facts every time you would want more information.

As other reviews noted there’s also zero analysis whatsoever. No questioning of the records he’s reviewing or the diagnoses these patients were given, no in depth discussion of the conditions they lived in or the system they were subjected to despite passing mention of many clear abuses and injustices, no contextual analysis of Ireland at the time and why so many families and people felt this was their last resort, no analysis of what this phenomenon did to the country as a whole. Just a list of names and diagnoses and death dates of patients whose lives are clearly important but aren’t really done justice here.

[Lacy Fewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from Brendan Kelly. I have vivid memories of visiting an elderly female relative at this Asymum in the 1970's. We visited most Sundays. I can hear the jangle of the many many sets of keys required to open the locked heavy metal doors. Entering into a large light filled day room. The ladies all sitting in their chairs around the edge of the room. Most with a handbag on their laps. They would smile as they saw a young child enter and some would come to meet me, touching and admiring my long blonde hair. My mother would sit by their side and acknowledge these women. As we walked home my mother was always very sad and she would tell me the story of another lady who had been locked away against her wishes. My mother's words never changed, "most of those women had no need to be in there". It is so important that we understand these stories which are not isolated to Irish institutions, this is a universal story.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an avid Brendan Kelly reader, I have thouroughly enjoyed all of his publications. A powerful and deeply researched account of Grangegorman, Asylum brings to life the history of one of Ireland's most significant psychiatric hospitals. Brendan Kelly combines meticulous scholarship with compassionate storytelling, giving voice to the forgotten patients while contextualising Ireland's broader social and medical history. Essential reading for anyone interested in Irish history, psychiatry, or the lives lived behind institutional walls.

[Grace Killius · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED the concept - institutions and asylums are typically very under-researched, I just wish there was a bit more to it. I also would have loved more detail in relation to how asylums affected the general populations opinions of people with varying disabilities.

[Rosanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great but harrowing read with lots of lesson to be learnt from it. Sadly mental health services in this country are currently virtually nonexistent. Shame on our government!

[Maeve Mulchrone]

devastating exploration into the dark history ireland has with mental illness and its institutionalism. interesting to consider how this has shaped modern perspectives on mental health

[Aidan Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slight but interesting overview of mental health treatment in Ireland over the last 200 years.

[Kehoehelen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Rona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently finished this book for my book club. I found it to be a very easy read, and reading all about the history of Grangegorman and Asylums in Ireland, were both eye-opening as well as fascinating. I would have liked it better though, if the author had added more case studies.

I give this book ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5.

[Rachael Cullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful style and gently lyrical despite potentially grim topic. Brendan has such enthusiasm for his subject it shines through. Illustrations were starkly handsome.
Probably would have preferred less repetition of the fact that Ireland was such an enthusiastic incarcerator of the unwanted and more of the life stories..