Jonathan Swift left his fortune to a mental health hospital
Today, St. Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin, known for its patients' innovative care, provides “Ireland’s largest, independent, not-for-profit mental health services." When founded in 1745 by the bequest of Jonathan Swift, it was the first psychiatric hospital to be built in Ireland, mandated for the care of “idiots and lunatics."
Jonathan Swift once said, "The best doctors in the land are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merry-man." Jonathan Swift, the organization's founder, novelist, and dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, is profiled in this intriguing biography by Professor James Lucey, medical director of St. Patrick's Mental Health Services.
Jonathan Swift established Ireland's first mental health services hospital due to his generosity and his idea for a "house for fools and mad," leaving a lasting legacy that will influence mental health treatment in Ireland in the twenty-first century. This is one of the exciting facts about Jonathan Swift.