When the motherhouse of the Religious Sisters of Charity moved from "Our Lady's Mount" in Harold's Cross to Mount St. Anne's in Milltown in 1879, the sisters opened Our Lady's Hospice at Harold's Cross, pioneering the modern hospice movement. The congregation was founded by Mary Aikenhead in 1815. By 1880, Our Lady's Hospice had a capacity of forty beds, and was overseen, expanded and improved by the first sister superior of the Hospice, Anna Gaynor. Later, Catherine Cummins, or Mother Polycarp, oversaw further expansion of the accommodation.
