Professor’s book examines history of Irish surgery

A SCHOLARLY tome tracing the history of Irish surgery in the 20th century was launched at University College Cork last night.

It was launched by Professor Michael Murphy, president of UCC.

Irish Surgeons and Surgery in the Twentieth Century was commissioned by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and was edited by Professor Barry O’Donnell, a past president of the college.

The book, a substantial 647 pages, covers the island of Ireland, North and south, and is published by Gill and Macmillan.

The editor argues that surgery is one of the pinnacles of civilised activity of the twentieth century but he is highly critical of the small number of surgeons in Ireland in every area and speciality.

Prof O’Donnell points out that France has five times as many surgeons per head of population.

The book chronicles the history of surgery in Ireland during the last century and includes biographical notes and essays on hundreds of surgeons.

Important specialities such as obstetrics and gynaecology are included along with an elegant account by Maurice Nelligan on the advance of cardiac surgery in Ireland.

Prof O’Donnell was born in Cork in 1926 and graduated from UCC in 1949. He did his postgraduate training in London and Boston and for 36 years, from 1957 to 1993, was paediatric surgeon at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin. He is past president of the British, Canadian and Irish Medical Associations and has won many international awards.