National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh (), situated in

Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorway, and the N2 road (Ireland), N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Du ...

, Dublin, is the largest

orthopaedic Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

hospital in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is managed by

Ireland East Hospital Group The Ireland East Hospital Group () is one of the hospital groups established by the Health Service Executive in Ireland. History The grouping of hospitals was announced by the Minister for Health, James Reilly, in May 2013, as part of a restructu ...

History

Lady Martin, widow of Sir Richard Martin, died in 1907 and bequeathed Cappagh House to the

Religious Sisters of Charity The Religious Sisters of Charity or Irish Sisters of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Mary Aikenhead in Ireland on 15 January 1815. Its motto is ('The love Christ urges us on'; ). The institute has its headquarte ...

"to provide a school for poor children in the neighbourhood". However, it was not situated in a populated area and, from 1921, it was used as a convalescent home for children and a training school for nursery nurses. It was occupied by children who needed long-term treatment with illness such as

rickets Rickets, scientific nomenclature: rachitis (from Greek , meaning 'in or of the spine'), is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children and may have either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stun ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

. A school for the children was opened in 1923. The hospital's early development was led by

Catherine Cummins Catherine Cummins or Mother Mary Polycarp (6 February 1879 – 11 November 1967) was an Irish Sister of Charity nun and founder member of Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital. Early life Catherine Cummins was born at 22/22a Richmond Street, Dublin on 6 ...

(also known by her religious name Mother Mary Polycarp). She organised fundraising and had a key role in transforming Cappagh House into an orthopaedic hospital. Building work, up to the mid-1950s, increased the number of beds and cots from 60 to 260, and new operating suite, X-ray department, and a physiotherapy department were added. From the mid-1950s fewer children were admitted following the discoveries of newer medical treatments and the number of beds was reduced to 164, and more beds were used for adults. From 1961 building modifications equipped the hospital to perform orthopaedic operations. It is now a major tertiary orthopaedic hospital, and provides tertiary elective orthopaedic services for the hospitals of the region including St. Vincent's Hospital, Mater Hospital, Beaumont Hospital,

Connolly Hospital The Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown () is a teaching hospital in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is managed by RCSI Hospitals. History The hospital, which was initially established as a tuberculosis sanitarium, wa ...

Temple Street Children's University Hospital Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street () is a children's hospital located on Temple Street, Dublin, Ireland. It is a teaching hospital of University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. History The hospital was founded by Mrs. Ellen ...

and the Central Remedial Clinic. A new post-anesthetic care unit was opened at the hospital in 2016.

References

{{Authority control Hospitals in Fingal Private hospitals in the Republic of Ireland Voluntary hospitals 1921 establishments in Ireland Hospitals established in 1921 Health Service Executive hospitals Catholic hospitals in Europe