Since Antrim's Holywell Hospital was opened as an asylum in 1898 there have been great changes in the treatment of mental illness and the way it is viewed in society. In the past Holywell was often overcrowded and underfunded. There were epidemics of infectious diseases and, in 1930, a devastating fire. Then particularly under Dr Boyd's leadership, great efforts were made to inject energy into the social life of patients and staff, and to make the hospital an increasingly pleasant place to be. Instead of being restrained and forgotten, the mentally ill are given hope and are rightly able to feel they are a valued part of society.