Ireland
Ireland or as it was then known, Eire, was visited en route to Belfast for a home visit. St Vincent’s was toured; founded in 1834 it refused Florence Nightingale’s request to nurse there. Of the £70,000 it cost annually to run, £5000 came from the Sweepstake Fund.
An operating list, which included Mr O’Connell’s 48th mitral valvotomy, was followed by lunch at the Guinness Brewery. Dr Steven’s Hospital (founded in 1720) and the Mater Misericordiae (1861) were also visited, the latter run by the Sisters of Mercy, some of whom had trained in the Hotel Dieu in Paris. Members learnt at the Meath Hospital that it was the only hospital in Ireland to have an English surgeon, Professor Kilner attending twice a year to do plastic procedures.
Dublin will be visited in 2012 along with Belfast.