Walls of Containment, David Killeen

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Vendor: PhotoIreland
Product Type: TLP Editions
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DESCRIPTION

This series documents twenty-one psychiatric hospitals constructed between 1814 and 1939 representing one of the largest public programs ever undertaken in Ireland.

Lauded as the first statutory national system of its type, these institutions (asylums) were founded on the ideal that a combination of kindness, moral guidance and innovative architecture could cure insanity. However, the practical challenges in accommodating the ever complex needs of vast amount of patients overrode the clinical capabilities and services of each institution.

By the 1950s, Ireland gained the dubious distinction of accommodating the world's highest number of psychiatric patients per capita. With the advent of the pharmacological revolution and shifting government policy, the number of psychiatric patients dropped significantly from 20,000 to almost none. Now vacant, the future of these once crucial but now challenging buildings remains very uncertain.

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Published by PhotoIreland
Edition of 200
Softcover
90 pages
148 x 210 mm