THE way has been paved for a possible future expansion of the Lourdes hospital after the old Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM) residence - attached to a site on the rear of the hospital - was knocked last week.

The Beechgrove residence was situated on a large site located at the rear of the existing hospital.

The remaining MMM nuns who were resident in Beechgrove for the past number of years have been relocated to a new facility at the rear of the Áras Mhuire Nursing Home.

A spokesperson for the MMMs said 'the work was part of an ongoing plan of development and the process is still going on' and the old Beechgrove Convent had been knocked following the completion of the new building.

When asked if there was any possibility of the land being acquired by the HSE for the expansion of the Lourdes she said there was 'nothing decided on anything like that'.

The residence replaced the original three-story convent and novitiate building, which was destroyed by fire in 1952, leaving 136 sisters without a home for a number of months.

While the hospital was transferred to the ownership of the then North Eastern Health Board (NEHB) in the late nineties, the nuns residence, which was partly attached to the hospital, remains in the MMM's ownership.

The original novitiate residence was completed in 1941 and the following year a major extension was completed and Our Lady of Lourdes acquired the status of a General and Maternity Hospital.

- Fiona MAGENNIS