<p>Intellectual disability nursing in Ireland has developed since 1926, largely within the traditions of religious and voluntary organisations (Barrington 1987). Unlike in the UK, there was no national network of colonies and only one mental deficiency hospital, Stewart’s Institution, founded in 1869 (Sweeney 2003). The Irish Nurses Organisation (2006) notes that: ‘Early development of services in Ireland was not accomplished by legalization or by state initiative, but rather by the State agencies agreeing to support the initiative of religious and non-statutory bodies or responding to needs highlighted by associations of parents and friends of individuals with intellectual disabilities.’</p>