Meath Hospital
The Meath Hospital (Ospidéal na Mí) was the oldest voluntary hospital in continuous existence in Ireland; the oldest university teaching hospital; and a most significant hub of medical eponyms and notable names.
Historical timeline of Meath hospital
- 1753 – Founded to care for the sick and poor of the Liberties
- 1774 – Took on the mantle of the County Dublin Infirmary
- 1822 – Hospital moved to Heytesbury Street. Became focus of the Dublin School of Medicine. Graves and Stokes introduced bedside teaching to the English-speaking world
- 1998 – Hospital moved to Tallaght in 1998.
1844 – The first hypodermic injection was administered by Francis Rynd, surgeon in the hospital
Notable Names
- John Cheyne (1777-1836); physician to the Meath hospital 1811-1817
- Sir Philip Crampton (1777–1858); surgeon to the hospital in 1798
- Robert Graves (1796-1853); physician from 1821-1843
- William Stokes (1804-1878); physician from 1826-1875
- Francis Rynd (1801-1861); physician and inventor of the hypodermic syringe
- Rawdon Macnamara (1822–1893); appointed Meath surgeon in 1861
- Lambert Hepenstal Ormsby (1850-1923); surgeon to the hospital 1872-1923
- Richard Lane Joynt (1867-1928); surgeon to the hospital and one of the first radiologists in Ireland
Literary associations
The site of the hospital (the Dean’s Vineyard) was where Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) kept a garden and a paddock for his horse – the wall of the hospital along Long Lane incorporates parts of the wall built by Dean Swift.
James Clarence Mangan (1803-1849) and Brendan Behan (1923-1964) were patients and spent their last days in the Meath Hospital.
The poet, author, and otolaryngologist, Oliver St John Gogarty (1878-1967) was on the staff of the hospital from 1911 to 1939. The fictional character of Malachi “Buck” Mulligan in James Joyce’s 1922 novel Ulysses is partly based on Gogarty, a close companion of Joyce.
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him by the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned: “Introibo ad altare Dei“
Opening line to Ulysses, 1922
References
Meath hospital publications
- Graves RJ, Stokes W. Clinical reports, of the medical cases in the Meath Hospital and County of Dublin Infirmary, during the session 1826. 1827
- Stokes W. An address delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital, 1845
- Rynd F. Neuralgia – introduction of fluid to the nerve. Dublin Med Press 1845; 13: 167–168
- Stokes W. An address delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital, 1847
- Stokes W. Medical education: a discourse delivered at the Meath Hospital, 1861
- Collis MH. An address delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital, 1867
- Stokes W. Medical ethics: a discourse delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital, 1869
- Stokes W. Lectures on fever: delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital and County of Dublin Infirmary, 1874
- Macnamara R. An address delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital and County of Dublin Infirmary. 1885
- Ormsby LH. The social, scientific and political influence of the medical profession: an inaugural address, delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital, 1886
Historical references
- Ormsby LH. Medical history of the Meath Hospital and County Dublin Infirmary 1753-1888. Dublin: Fannin, 1888
- Coakley D. The Irish School of Medicine: Outstanding Practitioners of the 19th Century. Dublin: Town House. 1988
- Gatenby P. Dublin’s Meath Hospital, 1753-1996. Dublin: Town House. 1996.
- O’Neill D. The Meath Hospital, Dublin. Hektoen International Journal 2015
eponymictionary
the names behind the name
Dr Ronan McKenna, MB BCh BAO at National University of Ireland Galway. Living in Australia with plans for a future in Emergency Medicine. A keen interest in Medical History, Wilderness Medicine and Sport.