Birth in South Dublin Workhouse

[hotfix123]

Hi all,

I have a birth cert from South Dublin in 1924. The baby was born in the South Dublin Union Workhouse April 1924. The mothers address is given as Marlborough Street ie North Dublin Union District. The mother was married but had only married in the Pro-Cathedral 3 weeks earlier
so I can understand why the mother would go to the South Dublin Union Workhouse rather than the North Union for the sake of some anonymity.
My question, though, is why in 1924 go to the workhouse at all when the Rotunda Lying-In Maternity Hospital was just around the corner?
The Rotunda was a charitable trust so I presume there was no, or very little, payment. Am I correct?
Any and all ideas welcome.

Cheers
Phil

[dathai]

See last paragraph this article might explain
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/DublinSouth/

[hotfix123]

Thanks for that Dathai.
Yes that explains why the birth cert clearly says Workhouse Dublin Union and not South Dublin Union.
However, I am still wondering why she would be in the workhouse for the birth and not The Rotunda.
By the way, she died 3 years later of TB in the same workhouse.

Cheers
Phil

[dathai]

My great gran was from Henry Place and she too died there in 1920s old age,when i got her death cert and it said ''Workhouse'' it set alarm bells ringing and i thought she may have died destitute but when i eventually found her grave in Glasnevin i found that she had bought it herself when her husband died 1904.
I think it was just a general hospital at that time and the title'' Workhouse''seems to add a stigma to it.
You mentioned T B could this have been in the family at the time and therefore possibly not allowed go to the Rotunda for fear of infecting other newborns , just some food for thought.

Dathai

[Edele]

Hi guys, I'm looking for a little help. I'm doing a documentary on the south Dublin Union work house/foundling hospital. I've been looking for details on the conditions the children were in but it only seems to be touched on in a few lines here and there. I'm also looking for stories about the children that were murdered there. If heard of a couple of stories but again trying to find the source is very very hard. Any help would be hugely appreciated!
Edele

[dathai]

I entered   Dublin Foundling Hospital   here and got some hits mainly for 1820s
http://www.nationalarchives.ie/search-the-archives/

[Edele]

Hi dathai

That just takes me to the national archives home page. Am I doing something wrong?

[Edele]

Even when I go on the archive page,it won't let me view anything.