Misery Hill derives its name from a time in history when the corpses of those executed at Gallows Hill near Upper Baggot Street were carted here and strung up to rot as a warning to other would-be troublemakers.

In the early 13th century there was a leper hospital not far from from where the High Tech companies are now located in Dublin. Sufferers who were unable to gain entrance to the hospital would spend the night at Misery Hill well away from the town and its citizens. Lazer Lane is nearby, the name relates to Lazarus who was cured by Jesus, and the area was the location of a Leper’s Hospital [Lazer Hill] from which pilgrims with leprosy sailed to religious sites in Europe hoping for miraculous cures.

Like most countries around the world, Ireland has a long history of leprosy. While leprosy has been eliminated here, Ireland has contributed to the ongoing the fight against the disease especially as an Irish chemist discovered part of the cure. It was while working on tuberculosis in the 1950s Vincent C. Barry and his team at Trinity College Dublin synthesised a compound called B663 (clofazimine) that proved effective against the bacterium that causes leprosy.