Blacklisted psychiatric hospital to close in 2014

A VICTORIAN-ERA psychiatric hospital in Co Kerry, which has been blacklisted by inspectors’ reports for years, will finally close in 2014.

St Finan’s in Killarney has been in use since the late 1800s but in recent years many parts of the sprawling building have fallen into serious disrepair and dilapidation while still housing mental health patients.

The most recent inspection report, from June 2010, states that some single rooms had interior and exterior doors which made them appear more like cells; some patients were in a large open dormitory with beds situated in the centre of the room, with little privacy; and a number of residents did not have up-to-date physical health reviews.