Mary Mercer’s Dublin legacy, 1724-2024

Peter A. Daly

This book details the various charitable endeavours of Mary Mercer, from her shelter for orphaned girls (built in 1724), to the later voluntary hospital and her school in Rathcoole, which subsequently merged with the King’s Hospital School. Such charitable deeds were supported by imaginative fundraising and donations from wealthy patrons, and are commemorated to this very day by the several buildings and places in Dublin that still bear her name.

Peter A. Daly is a retired medical doctor. In 1979 he was the last physician appointed to Mercer’s Hospital and in 2002 he became a governor of the Mercer’s Hospital Foundation, which he now chairs. He is a director of St. Francis Hospice, Dublin and is the Clare person of the year 2023–4 in recognition of his contribution to cancer care in Ireland.