Objectives: By the early 19th century the social manifestations of psychiatric disorder had become a matter of public and parliamentary pre-occupation in Ireland. This concern led to legislative provision for the establishment of a national system of district lunatic asylums. This paper describes some details of the early foundation of this system.
Method: Examination of House of Commons papers on the lunatic asylums of Ireland 1835-1839.
Results: Details are presented concerning the activities, numbers of residents, admissions and costs of the 11 asylums in operation by 1839.
Conclusions: By 1839 the operational, administrative and cultural characteristics of a national asylum system that would take another half century to complete and would extend well into the 20th century had been established.
