Abstract
Background
The history of institutional care for individuals with intellectual disability is under-researched, complex and troubling.
Aims
To explore the experiences of women who may have had intellectual disability and/or mental illness and were admitted to forensic psychiatric care in early twentieth-century Ireland.
Methods
All female case records at the Central Mental Hospital, Dublin from 1910 to 1948 (n = 42) were studied for evidence of possible intellectual disability and a series of five cases is presented in detail.
Results
These committals occurred in the context of adverse social conditions, over-crowding in asylums and a belief that rates of mental illness were rising. Particular challenges included diagnostic issues (especially in relation to intellectual disability), adjustment to asylum environments, mental illness and physical ill-health.
Conclusions
The institutional experiences of individuals with intellectual disability represents an important area for further historical research, using larger and more varied forensic populations.
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Acknowledgments
The author is grateful for the support of Professor Harry Kennedy (National Forensic Psychiatry Service, Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14) and the comments of the anonymous peer-reviewer.
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Kelly, B.D. Intellectual disability, mental illness and offending behaviour: forensic cases from early twentieth-century Ireland. Ir J Med Sci 179, 409–416 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-008-0188-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-008-0188-1