St Dympna's hospital was behind high walls, these were lowered in the early 1960s and the public were allowed access through the grounds from the Dublin road to the Athy road. I think a Doctor Blake was instrumental in this new approach. The hospital had its own farmland, crops including vegetables for the hospital kitchens were tended by male patients under supervision. They had their own herd of cattle and the beasts were slaughtered on a weekly basis in a small stone shed not far from the church (now the military museum). The hospital had its own tailor Mr. Moloney. The male patients were dressed in grey herringbone tweed suits with matching caps and hobnailed boots. The male inmates of the "workhouse" and later The Sacred Heart hospital had similar attire but their suits were brown tweed. I never saw female patients on the streets of Carlow but men from both institutions were a regular feature. The staff of the hospital included "Attendants" perhaps these were the forerunner of nurses! PP