A pioneering collection of essays aiming to open up the previously neglected area of the social history of medicine in Ireland.

A pioneering collection of essays aiming to open up the previously neglected area of the social history of medicine in Ireland.

Exploring aspects of Irish medical history, from the nature and proposed remedies for various illnesses in eighteenth century Ireland, to the treatment of influenza in twentieth-century Ireland, this book shows how the cultures of medical care evolved over three centuries.

The story of early modern medicine, with its extremes of scientific brilliance and barbaric practice, has long held a fascination for scholars. The great discoveries of Harvey and Jenner sit incongruously with the persistence of Galenic theory, superstition and blood-letting. Yet despite continued research into the period as a whole, most work has focussed on the metropolitan centres of England, Scotland and France, ignoring the huge range of national and regional practice. This collection aims to go some way to rectifying this situation, providing an exploration of the changes and developments in medicine as practised in Ireland and by Irish physicians studying and working abroad during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bringing together research undertaken into the neglected area of Irish medical and social history across a variety of disciplines, including history of medicine, Colonial Latin American history, Irish, and French history, it builds upon ground-breaking work recently published by several of the contributors, thereby augmenting our understanding of the role of medicine within early modern Irish society and its broader scientific and intellectual networks. By addressing fundamental issues that reach beyond the medical institutions, the collection expands our understanding of Irish medicine and throws new light on medical practices and the broader cultural and social issues of early modern Ireland, Europe, and Latin America. Taking a variety of approaches and sources, ranging from the use of eplistolary exchange to the study of medical receipt books, legislative practice to belief in miracles, local professionalization to international networks, each essay offers a fascinating insight into a still largely neglected area. Furthermore, the collection argues for the importance of widening current research to consider the importance and impact of early Irish medical traditions, networks, and practices, and their interaction with related issues, such as politics, gender, economic demand, and religious belief.

Where previous histories of Ireland in the war years have focused on high politics, That Neutral Island mines deeper layers of experience. Stories, letters, and diaries illuminate this small country as it suffered rationing, censorship, the threat of invasion, and a strange detachment from the war.

In this fundamentally important work, Professor Brendan Kelly explores the background to Irish psychiatry in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, charting its progress and development. Using detailed case studies from the original records, the author examines some of the more unusual treatments explored and the history behind them. What emerges is a collection of piercing, untold stories of crime and illness, drama and tragedy. They are filled with a sense of the powerlessness of those detained and the dedicated – and sometimes misguided – enthusiasm of those trying to help. This book sheds important light on the foundations for the treatment of mental illness in Ireland.

This is the first textbook on the history of modern Ireland to adopt a social history perspective. Written by an international team of leading scholars, it draws on a wide range of disciplinary approaches and consistently sets Irish developments in a wider European and global context.