[Hannibal_Smith]

Going back over the family tree, I noticed that my great-great-great grandfather died in the Dublin Union Workhouse in 1930 and my great-great-great grand mother died in St Kevin's Hospital in 1937. It seems that The Workhouse became the Hospital during the time of the Free State, but continued on as a workhouse type set up.

There is nothing to say when they were both admitted, but both have different addresses listed as their residence when admitted on their death records so it looks like they were admitted one after the other. Unfortunately the dates of admissions online don't go up as far as 1930 so I can't check. The mother's address when admitted looks like she was living with one of her daughters.

I'm just wondering whether it was normal for the elderly to end their days in a workhouse in the 1930s? He was a painter and she was a fish dealer so as they got older he couldn't keep up working I imagine? So with no income was the workhouse the only place left? Would it be normal that they both be admitted separately? Or could it be that they just went there when terminally ill, using it as a hospital more than the only place of refuge left?

[L1011]

Workhouses were basically hospitals for the poor by 1930; so it would have been quite common for normal working-class people to die there. It is unlikely they were there for long before death although it could have been possible.

[Chrisam]

The National Archives have all the records. There are two types of records, entry books and board of management books. I know the North and South Dublin Unions merged in 1918, moving to the James Hospital site. Have a look at the National Archive webpage, they might have info. Very sad that they ended up there. My granny's sister died there in 1929.

[Hannibal_Smith]

Thanks so much folks. I hope they weren't long there and it was more a hospital type setting at the end of their lives.

I'll have another delve into the National Archives and see if I can find anything further

Thanks again.

[tabbey]

Originally Posted by L1011

Workhouses were basically hospitals for the poor by 1930; so it would have been quite common for normal working-class people to die there. It is unlikely they were there for long before death although it could have been possible.

Saint James hospital, as the successor to the South Dublin Union, continued to have hundreds of long term beds for the elderly, up to the early 1980s.
Many of the residents were quite ambulant, I remember them trooping into the ward kitchen to wash up after the evening meal.

You could consider it a sort of retirement home, with the possibility of full nursing care should the need arise.