"Was there a hospital of that name in County Clare? "
No, but it may be of significance that the earliest use for St James's Hospital in Dublin, some time in the 1700s, was for 'foundlings' - abandoned children
These were, or course, well known used as dumping grounds by prostitutes to rid themselves of unwanted "accidents"
"Not St James Palace, then"
lock was a slang term not a name
Jim Carroll