Hospital (in Ruins)

Indicated as rectangular structure (c. 18m WNW-ESE; c. 7m NNE-SSW) on 1842, 1906 and 1937 OS 6-inch maps; marked as 'Hospital' only on 1937 OS 6-inch map. To E of road, and immediately S of disused quarry. No structure survives. According to local information, 'old fever hospital with possible chapel'. OS Field Memoranda of 1932 recorded 'a ruin...52 feet in length 24 in breadth and 3 ft high, it is built of small stones and mortar...the local tradition has it that it was a Leper Hospital...[and]...was used as a burial ground for unbaptised and illegitimate children.' Gwynn and Hadcock (1988, 356) suggest townland name derived from medieval hospital or hospice, as does Lee (1966, 17); possible church (14531) also in townland. Adjacent road was main Cork-Limerick road at least until 1788 (O'Keeffe and Simington 1991, 144). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2000). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009