The famous British Army surgeon was actually an Irish woman. ℘℘℘ Dr. James Barry was born in County Cork as Margaret Anne Bulkley, the daughter of Jeremiah and Mary-Ann (neé Barry). Accounts vary on the year of her birth but whether it was 1789 or 1795, women were denied a formal education. Her father was a feckless grocer who lost his business, landed in debtors’ prison and … [Read more...] about Wild Irish Women: Dr. James Barry
Military Doctors
Military Physicians: Like Father, Like Daughter
Dr. Francis O’Donnell and his daughter, Dr. Mary O’Donnell, have dedicated their careers as physicians to serving our soldiers. The story of their service to their country and to our servicemen and women is a reminder of what makes our military great – the people. “I was not interested in the military,” Francis O’Donnell recalls. “They basically had to drag me in.” It was the … [Read more...] about Military Physicians: Like Father, Like Daughter
My Grandfather’s War
Over 210,000 Irish enlisted in the British Army during World War I. Among them were doctors such as my grandfather who tended the wounded and saw the brutality of modern warfare up close. Waiting for the Wounded: “A British advance has just begun, and the surgeons of a Divisional Collecting Station near the Somme are awaiting the arrival of the first laden stretcher-bearers. … [Read more...] about My Grandfather’s War