Volume 15 of Irish Archives, launched in Dublin City Library and Archive on 2 December last, celebrates Irish medical history and the richness of the sources available for its study held in national, local and academic institutions throughout the island. Speakers on the night of the launch included Dr Catherine Cox, the Director of the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland based in University College Dublin, and Deirdre Ellis King, Deputy City Librarian for Dublin. Due to pressing cabinet commitments, Minister Martin Cullen of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism was unable to launch the journal and his speech was delivered in his absence by the former chair of the Irish Society, Dr Kenneth Milne.

This year’s journal comprises a selection of papers presented at a workshop entitled ‘Resources in Medical History' held under the auspices of the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland in University College Dublin on 21 September 2007 and the content reflects the increasing popularity of medical history as a discipline in Irish academia. Articles not only focus on medical and health-related records, but also highlight the range and diversity of archival and printed material available to historians of medical history held in Irish archives and libraries.

The study of medical history in Ireland is at a relatively early stage and until recently, scant attention has been paid to the diverse range of material available to accurately reconstruct its evolution. However, with the establishment of the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland at University College Dublin in 2006, considerable progress has been made to promote the study of the social and cultural history of medicine in Ireland.

The current issue reflects this progress and accommodates the publication for the first time of many of the presentations given at the UCD workshop, in addition to the inclusion of new articles which document sources available in repositories nationwide. The national repositories in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are well represented. The extensive collections available in the National Archives of Ireland are covered by Brian Donnelly’s article on hospital records and Aideen Ireland’s article on some unusual sources for the history of medicine, while the visual material on medical and health-related films held by the Irish Film Archive is presented by Kasandra O’Connell. The medical and health records of Northern Ireland available in the Public Record Office in Belfast are comprehensively described by David Huddleston.

At local level, case study analysis of various records from Meath County Archives by Cécile Chemin illustrates the importance of local authority records as sources for medical history research, while the centres of excellence and academic training are well represented too. There are papers on the history of medicine in the libraries of both Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin by Estelle Gittins and Evelyn Flanagan, while articles by Robert Mills and Mary O’Doherty on medical history resources in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Library and the Library of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland respectively, complete the volume.

Copies of the journal can be obtained for €10 by contacting ISA Honorary Membership Secretary Ms Orna Somerville.

Susan Hood and Elizabeth McEvoy
Irish Archives, co-editors