Grangegorman and Genealogy: Searching for Patients Voices

Grangegorman is an important site not only for Dublin's north inner suburbs, but for the wider city and region. Thousands of people lived and worked in St Brendan's Psychiatric Hospital, yet their testimony has been forgotten, and their voices are buried deep in records (if they survive at all). With growing interest in history and genealogy, how can we find out what their lives were like?

Grangegorman Histories and the National Archives present this introductory information session on what sources are available to discover the lives of St Brendan's.

This event took place on the 4th October 2025 in Grangegorman as part of the Dublin Festival of History and was hosted by Grangegorman Histories and the National Archives.

Colm Murray is an architect, carrying out doctoral research with TU Dublin on Grangegorman. He is currently carrying out research, funded by Grangegorman Histories, entitled Grangegorman Histories, Site and Society, 1770 - 2012. He is researching the social life of the buildings, their importance for staff and patients, and for the local community through this period when the role of the hospital changed so completely.


Brian Donnolly was the Senior Archivist with the National Archives. He has worked with the National Archives since 1981 and has been involved with the archives at Grangegorman for at least 30 years.
Fiona Fitzsimons is a founder of Eneclann Ltd., a Trinity College Campus Company, and a Director of the Irish Family History Centre at EPIC. She teaches an evening course over two years, in Irish Family & Social History in Trinity College. She's a columnist for Irish Lives Remembered, and History Ireland. She lives in Dublin with her husband and three sons.

For more information, visit grangegormanhistories.ie or email [email protected]