Sir, – Your report of the 1901 opening of the Richmond Hospital (“Dublin’s lesser spotted architectural gems”, Life, October 17th) claims that the spacious hospital was “practically fireproof”.
I was in my first post as a medical house officer in 1972 when the hospital did, indeed, catch fire one Saturday evening.
With the fire brigade on the way, as the smoke swirled around me, I telephoned the consultants on-call and the hospital manager to request their immediate presence.
Their disbelief and hostility were explained when I realised the date – April 1st. – Yours, etc,