Killarney asylum

[gmggmg]

An ancestor of mine was a medical superintendent in the asylum in Killarney (now closed I believe) in the 19th century.   I would be very grateful if anyone knows how I could get hold of asylum records from that time.  I simply want to gather information.

Thanks in advance.

[annclare]

St Finan's Hospital Killarney is the main psychiatric hopital for Kerry and is on the site of the old asylum. You could write to the admistrator at the hospital or phone (international prefix-06431022) and they may be able to give you some pointers. There have been some books published on the history of the mental health services in Ireland and it might be useful to have a look at those. One is Joseph Robins 1986 "Fools and Mad - A history of the Insane in Ireland."

annclare

[gmggmg]

Thank you!

I'll give them a call, and I'll try to get hold of that book.

[shanew147]

what timeframe are you interested in ?

the following is the entry for the Asylum included in the Killarney section of Slaters Directory of 1894 :

COUNTY LUNATIC ASYLUM.
Resident Medical Superintendent - Laurence T. Griffin L.R.C.P.L.,
L.B.C.S.I
Assistant Medical Officer, Edward AV. Griffin M.D
Assisting Physician, George Hickson L.R.C.P.Edin
Apothecary, John J. Savell
Chaplains—Church of Ireland, Ven. Archdeacon George R. Wynne D.D.
   Catholic, Rev. Daniel O'Keeffe
Matron, Emma Creagh
Clerk, Michael W. Mahony

I can have a look at earlier years if you wish..


Shane

[gmggmg]

Probably earlier, maybe around 1860.

The name I'm looking for is Matthias Rickard.  We believe he was medical superintendent at the asylum for a while, although he was not a medical doctor so he may have had another title.  I am not very familiar with the various positions.

The only piece of information I discovered today is that the Killarney asylum was opened in 1852.  We believe that Matthias Rickard was in (working in!) the Carlow asylum before Killarney.  So it could be that he was in Carlow before 1852, and then got a job in Killarney when it opened, but that's just a guess.

By the way, you (Shane) kindly answered another query of mine about a baker named Matthias Rickard in Dublin.  The Killarney Matthias Rickard is a son of the Dublin one.

Ultimately I would like to get church records of births, marriages and deaths for these ancestors, but first I have to track them down to know where to look.

Thank you very much for your reply, I really appreciate it.

[gmggmg]

I just checked the Slater's 1846 directory for Carlow at

http://www.failteromhat.com/slater.php

No Matthias Rickard in Carlow asylum.

I don't know of any other directories online, you must have hard copies.  Thanks very much for checking them.

[gmggmg]

While googling for Matthias Rickard I found a post on another board from several years ago:

http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=151&p=surnames.rickard

The author of this post is Mike Cross, who I would dearly like to get in touch with because he says he has more information.

I'm assuming this is the same Matthias Rickard as mine, how many can there be?

Mike Cross, in case you are reading, please contact me!

[shanew147]

I wonder if this is the same person ?

Lunatic Asylum, Main St - Wexford
  Governor—Matthew Rickard.
  Matron—Ann Rickard.

from Slaters of 1846


my Latin is not very good - but I think Mattias means Matthew...


Shane

[gmggmg]

Wow, great find!  Thanks for that.  I think it could easily be the same person.  Family lore says he was in some position of management at the lunatic asylum in Carlow, and then Killarney.  I haven't heard of Wexford in there, but it must be him.  How many people named Rickard in a position of management in a lunatic asylum in the mid 19th century, with a name like Matthew/Matthias, can there be?

Looking at IGI, there is a Mathias Ricard (that exact spelling) married an Anne Nolan on 22 March 1843 in Carlow.  The spelling is a little different, but I think this is the same person.  The first name Ann/Anne fits with your find.

Are there any other directories for years after 1852, up to say 1870?

Thank you again for your help.