Hospital master Prof Fergal Malone is delivering a new vision for the Rotunda

Relocating the Rotunda, lock, stock and babies, from Dublin City centre to Blanchardstown, is Prof Fergal Malone’s ‘number one goal’. But the hospital’s new master isn’t one to shirk a challenge, reports Catherine Shanahan

‘MY MAIN vision,” Professor Malone says at our round-table interview “is our relocation to, and indeed co-location at, the Connolly Hospital site.

“While there’s a great affection after 250 years for the building and the site here, I think everyone accepts the Rotunda on its current campus is no longer fit for purpose.” No argument there. The current site on Parnell St has no scope for expansion and vehicular access is now at a premium. Some of the buildings date back almost 260 years. The move to James Connolly Memorial in Blanchardstown, will shift it to what is “effectively a greenfield site at the junction of the N3 and the M50” and has huge potential for the Rotunda, Prof Malone says.