55 Years at Elm Park: A landmark moment in Irish Healthcare

27th November 2025

A remarkable piece of history resurfaced today as RTÉ Archives shared original 1970 footage of the official opening of the new St. Vincent’s Hospital at Elm Park, a defining moment in Irish healthcare that continues to shape patient care more than five decades later.

After 136 years on St Stephen’s Green, St Vincent’s Hospital made the ambitious move to a purpose-built campus three miles away at Elm Park. The relocation was one of the most complex undertakings of its time, involving the transfer of hundreds of patients, systems, staff and services to what was then considered one of the most modern hospitals in Ireland and Britain.

The historic report can be viewed here:
https://www.rte.ie/archives/2025/1113/1543740-new-st-vincents-hospital/

A moment that redefined what a Hospital could be

On 27 November 1970, the new St. Vincent’s Hospital was officially opened by Tánaiste and Minister for Health Erskine Childers, with President Éamon de Valera, Liam Cosgrave and Michael O’Leary in attendance. The campus was blessed by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid and entrusted to the Irish Sisters of Charity, who had led the hospital since its foundation.

At the time, it was the largest voluntary teaching hospital to be commissioned in Ireland or Great Britain since World War II — boasting 454 beds, a modern Emergency Department, specialist outpatient services, clinical laboratories, lecture theatres and a medical library. It marked the beginning of a new model of integrated care built around education, training and innovation.

From foundations to national leadership

What began as a bold move in 1970 has grown into the St. Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) we know today, a world-recognised, JCI-accredited, UCD-affiliated academic teaching hospital providing acute, chronic and emergency care across more than 50 specialties.

Today, SVUH is home to several of Ireland’s most advanced national services, including:

• The National Liver Transplant Programme
• The National Pancreas Transplant Programme
• The National Centre for Cystic Fibrosis
• The National Centre for Neuroendocrine Tumours (NET)
• Major Trauma and Regional Stroke referral services
• National Cancer Control Programme services
• Highly specialised surgical, hepatology, oncology and transplant care

Many of these began as pioneering services that were first introduced to Irish patients at SVUH, transforming the landscape of Irish healthcare.

A Hospital where people make the difference

While the archives show a new building in 1970, the true story of SVUH is the people who brought it to life and those who continue to sustain it today.

Across theatres, wards, outpatient clinics, laboratories, research units, allied health, diagnostics, administration and support services, staff at SVUH work every day to deliver safe, expert, compassionate care to patients from across Ireland.

Their commitment is the reason SVUH continues to lead in complex care, research excellence and patient-centred innovation.

An academic powerhouse driving innovation

SVUH’s partnership with University College Dublin has grown into one of the strongest academic hospital–university collaborations in Europe. The campus is now at the forefront of “bench-to-bedside” translational medicine, with clinicians and researchers working side by side to advance diagnosis, treatment and patient outcomes.

Research laboratories on site support continuous innovation in areas such as cancer, immunology, liver disease, cardiology and personalised medicine ensuring that the discoveries made here translate directly into improved patient care.

Honouring the past, building the future

The RTÉ Archives footage is more than a window into 1970, it is a reminder of the courage, ambition and belief that shaped SVUH’s evolution into a centre of excellence.

From its roots on St Stephen’s Green to its transformation at Elm Park, SVUH has remained steadfast in its purpose: to deliver exceptional, patient-centred care, supported by leading-edge expertise, innovation, research and education.

As the hospital looks ahead to its next chapter, one thing remains unchanged:
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and our people are the reason we can do it.