A new book by Prof Denis O'Sullivan looks at the history of Cork University Hospital, from the Great Fire in 1862 to more recent developments, writes Michelle McDonagh
Among the arguments put forward by the first professor of surgery, Dr Denis Bullen, in favour of the establishment of a college of medicine in Cork back in the first half of the 19th century was the plenitude of paupers in Cork "who would offer ample opportunities for the study of anatomy and certain aspects of pathology".
The same man was forced to resign as dean of medicine and professor of surgery following the Great Fire of 1862 which destroyed the entire west wing of the main quadrangle of the university.
In his new book, The Cork School of Medicine: A History, Prof Denis O'Sullivan, emeritus professor of medicine at UCC, explains that from the beginning, there was little doubt that the blaze was deliberate and probably executed by someone with an intimate knowledge of the college and its functions.
Multiple rumours spread almost immediately and Bullen claimed he had strong circumstantial evidence that the fire was the work of a college official and he later incriminated the college president, Dr Robert Kane.
This claim was revealed in the House of Commons by MP J Pope Hennessey (a former student of the then Queen's College Cork) ensuring that the matter received maximum publicity.
"When his charges were fully investigated, they were found to be groundless. When confronted, Bullen admitted to being mistaken and attributed this to a lapse of memory. It was recommended that he be dismissed and he resigned in 1884," explains O'Sullivan.
Although neither the exact cause nor the instigators of the fire were ever found, the event was a considerable misfortune for the young medical faculty. Not only did it lead to the resignation of Bullen, who was the most influential member of the faculty at the time, it destroyed a great deal of valuable specimens and archives.
This interesting anecdote is one of many contained in O'Sullivan's book which spans the history of the School of Medicine at University College Cork from its foundation in 1849 to the present day and which has clearly been a labour of love for the author involving over two decades of research.
O'Sullivan held the chair of medicine at UCC from 1961 until his retirement in 1990 and was also consultant physician to the Southern Health Board, first in St Finbarr's Hospital and then at the Cork Regional (now University) Hospital.
He told the HealthSupplement: "There were some great personalities in the school over the years like Prof Robert Kane, the university's first and longest serving president who held office for 28 years from 1849 and the eponymous Prof Alcock, first professor of anatomy, a very difficult character who was eventually sacked.
"Henry McNaughten Jones was a remarkable man who founded five hospitals, was professor of obstetrics and organised the 47th annual meeting of the British Medical Association, the biggest health meeting of the time in Ireland and Britain, to be held in Cork. He was well known in Cork for his poetry, but he left for Harley Street in 1883 - when he was passed over for the chair of surgery - where he served with distinction until his death."
The first three medical students graduated from QCC in 1852 and, apart from 1854 when there were no graduates, Cork has produced doctors every year since. The early medical students were sons of 'strong' farmers, owners of substantial shops or businesses, doctors, lawyers, clergymen and servicemen. The children of the wealthy were sent to Oxford or Cambridge if they could afford it or to Trinity College Dublin.
From the founding of the school until the 1960s, the majority of Cork medical graduates found their permanent place of work abroad, mostly in Britain where they went into general practice or the armed forces. The Act of Parliament of 1879, by which the Universities of Ireland were founded, opened the faculty to women and the first two female medical students graduated in 1894. Lucy Smith became Cork's first female obstetrician as well as visiting physician to Cork Women's Prison while Dora Allman spent most of her working life in the County Mental Hospital in Co Armagh.
Only a further 10 women graduated in Cork over the following 20 years but since the mid-1970s, the situation of women studying medicine has changed greatly and now there are more female students and graduates than male.
Most of the major developments at UCC School of Medicine have taken place over the past 50 years and indeed some of the most striking, in the past 15 years.
The opening of Cork Regional Hospital in November 1978 was a major advance and according to O'Sullivan, Cork University Hospital (as it is now called) remains Ireland's most complete hospital with its 600 beds embracing a fuller range of specialties than any other. There have been significant developments in academic appointments in the medical school in recent years and many new capital projects, the most notable of which in O'Sullivan's opinion, was the opening of the landmark Brookfield Health Sciences Complex.
The launch of 'The Cork School of Medicine: A History' took place on Thursday, January 25th at UCC. Copies can be obtained from UCC Visitors' Centre, North Wing and all good bookshops at a cost of €30.