“…there is hardly a parish of any considerable extent in which there may not be found some unfortunate human creature who, if his il-treatment has made him phrenetic, is chained in the cellar or garret of a Work-house, fastened to the leg of a table, tied to a post in an out-house, or perhaps shut up in an uninhabited ruin; or, if his lunacy be inoffensive, left to ramble, half-naked, half-starved, through the streets and highways, teased by the scoff and jest of all that is vulgar, ignorant or unfeeling.” Such was the plight of insane poor in 18th century Britain and Ireland when mental illness was shrouded by ignorance, fear, superstition and religious interpretations, (afflictions by God); the treatment of those afflicted with so-called ‘madness’ notoriously hideous and cruel. Early 19th century Ireland had virtually no public or state provision for people deemed to be mad or insane. Without family support, the fate of the insane poor was left to the charity of the hum
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