[2] It was initially founded by the Sisters of Mercy but has always treated patients without regard to class or creed.

[2] In 1895, Dr Patrick MacAlister, the Bishop of Down and Connor, arranged for expansion of the Mater Infirmorum Hospital with construction of a new building on Mountview Terrace.

[2] The main hospital, which was designed by William Fennell, was officially opened by Sir Robert McConnell, Lord Mayor of Belfast, on 22 April 1900.

[2] A landmine exploded outside the hospital leading to numerous casualties in April 1941 during the Belfast Blitz of the Second World War.

[4] It was the first hospital in Northern Ireland to treat injured soldiers from the British Army in October 1969 and became fully integrated into the National Health Service in 1972.