The hospital, which was designed by John L. Robinson,[2] was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1876.[3] In 2001, St. Michael's Hospital joined the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group, which also administers St. Vincent's University Hospital and St. Vincent's Private Hospital.[3] In 2007 the Sisters of Mercy sold a car park behind the hospital to Noel Smyth, a developer, for residential development.[4] St. Vincent's Healthcare Group confirmed at the time that it had no plans to dispose of the hospital 'either by sale or site swap'.[4]