City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital and UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology

The first meeting of the Management Committee of the Dublin Skin, Cancer, and Urinary Hospital was held In June 1911 under the Chairmanship of Mr. J. T. Wood-Latimer and the Hospital opened in rented premises in No. 3 Hume Street on 20th July 1911. A year later this house was purchased for £450. By 1935 the remainder of the south side of Hume Street had been purchased. In 2006 the old Georgian buildings were deemed unsuitable for the requirements of a modern hospital, and the dermatology services were transferred to St. Vincent’s University Hospital. The City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital was soldin November 2006.

The Charter of the City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital was granted by George V in 1916. The charter was amended in 2007 allowing the proceeds from the sale of the Hospital to be administered by a Board of Management elected annually in accordance with the Charter.

Dr Andrew Charles

Dr Andrew Charles (1880-1933), one of the founders of the Hospital on Hume Street, was a dominant figure in the first quarter of the Hospital’s existence. Dr. Frank Charles, who joined the staff to assist his older brother, died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. The first matron of the Hospital, Elizabeth Charles, was a sister of Andrew Charles. Andrew Charles’s son, Havelock Charles (1905-1980), joined the staff in 1934 and worked there until his death and his wife, Iris, was a member of the Ladies Guild for many years.

Following the sale of The City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital in 2006, the Board of Management embarked on a number of initiatives designed to serve the principle of translational medicine whereby the benefits of medical research into skin disease whether emanating from scientific laboratories or from clinical observation and study, would be brought to patients as expeditiously as possible:

The Hume Street Legacy and the Future

The Charles Institute: The City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Charity in partnership with University College Dublin founded the Charles Institute on the campus of University College Dublin. The foundation stone was laid on 13th June 2008, and the Institute was opened on 19th September 2011.The Irish Skin Foundation: The Irish Skin Foundation was inaugurated on 19th January 2011. The Charles Centre: The Charles Centre for the treatment of patients with skin disease at St. Vincent’s University Hospital will open in January 2012.

History of the Hospital: A Century of Service: The City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital 1911 – 2011 by Eoin O’Brien is available from the Irish Virtual Research Library and Archive at the James Joyce Library in University College Dublin.