The
Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake was a lottery established in the
Irish Free State in 1930 as the
Irish Free State Hospitals' Sweepstake to finance
hospitals, and is often referred to as the
Irish Sweepstake. The was the act that established the lottery; as this act expired in 1934, in accordance with its terms, the Public Hospitals Acts were the legislative basis for the scheme thereafter. The main organisers were Richard Duggan, Captain Spencer Freeman and
Joe McGrath. Duggan was a well known Dublin
bookmaker who had organised a number of sweepstakes in the decade prior to setting up the Hospitals' Sweepstake. Captain Freeman was a
Welsh-born engineer and former captain in the British Army. After the
Constitution of Ireland was enacted in 1937 the name
Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake was adopted.
History
The sweepstake was established because there was a need for investment in hospitals and medical services and the public finances were unable to meet this expense at the time. As the population of Ireland was unable to raise sufficient funds, because of its low population, a significant amount of the funds were raised in the
United Kingdom and
United States; often among the emigrant Irish populations. The winner was determined based on the outcome of several
horse races; amongst them, the
Cambridgeshire,
Derby and
Grand National.
The original sweepstake draws were held at
The Mansion House, Dublin on May 19th 1939 under the supervision of the Chief Commissioner of Police, and...
Read More