Locked away: Thousands of 'unwanted' children failed by foundling hospitals

John Gilroy, archaeologist, outside the former Cork Foundling Hospital at Leitrim St, Cork.

Between 1728–1828, the foundling hospital served the purpose of removing unwanted infants from the view of Irish society. With a stated aim 'to make good Protestants of the foundling children', conditions were bleak, often resulting in illness and death, writes Sean O'Riordan

The Cork Foundling Hospital was established in 1747 on the site now occupied by Murphy’s Brewery on Leitrim St. Its construction was funded by a special tax on all coal imported into Cork. This was the source of continual complaints from the merchants of Cork, who felt that the charge was an unreasonable one.