Coombe hospital marks 200 years with new museum exhibit
The institution, founded in 1826, will showcase its royal charter and medical history at the Little Museum of Dublin.
By James Anderson ·
The Coombe hospital in Dublin is marking its 200th anniversary this year. The institution was established in 1826 by Dr. John Kirby, who purchased the vacant Meath Hospital building on Coombe Street after the original hospital relocated to Long Lane the previous year.
The facility began as a school of anatomy and surgery. Its maternity services started in 1826 after Margaret Boyle persuaded Kirby to provide space for poor women in the Liberties area. This followed a winter snowstorm in 1825 in which two pregnant women died from exposure while traveling to the Rotunda hospital. Boyle's late husband, Philip, a wealthy merchant, had originally proposed the idea in his will, but Margaret drove its implementation. She died before the project was fully realized, and her name was later inscribed on the old hospital facade.
The hospital moved to its current site on Cork Street in 1967. The board decided on the relocation in 1935, but it took nearly two decades to acquire the land and another ten years to complete the construction. The new building opened as the largest maternity unit in Ireland and Britain, featuring 156 maternity beds, 58 gynecology beds, and 51 cots.
A new exhibition titled "Born in Dublin: 200 Years of The Coombe Hospital" is currently open at the Little Museum of Dublin. The display includes the hospital's royal charter, which Queen Victoria granted in 1867. The document has been put on public view for the first time. The exhibit also features photographs, documents, medical equipment, and a recreated neonatal unit.
The Coombe has served as a site for medical advancement and community care for two centuries. In the 1970s, staff members including John Drumm, Dermot FitzGerald, and Bernard Stuart pioneered the use of Doppler ultrasound technology to monitor blood flow in the umbilical artery. This technique helped identify at-risk pregnancies and reduce stillbirths.
The hospital's records show a decline in maternal mortality. The rate was one in 181 cases between 1928 and 1935. By 2020, that rate had dropped to one in 31,063. In August 2024, the hospital welcomed Ollie Gomez, who was born at 22 weeks and four days' gestation. Weighing 420 grams, he was given a 5 percent chance of survival. He survived and celebrated his second birthday in August 2026.
Staff have maintained a long history of service at the institution. Mary McLaughlin worked as a housekeeper from 1921 until her retirement, serving 64 years without missing a day of work. The hospital also provided emergency aid during the 1916 Rising, sheltering poor women and children in its wards.
