If you are interested in learning more about discovering early 20th century Dublin before you visit Ireland's capital, you might want to pick up the latest novel from the award-winning novelist Emma Donoghue, published in 2020.
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Titled, The Pull of the Stars, Donoghue’s novel is set in a maternity ward at the height of the Spanish Flu that killed over 50 million people worldwide.
The book will give you a taste of the time period, as well as some insight into how the pandemic of 1918 affected the city and Ireland in general.
The Irish-born author, who lives in Canada, is best-known for penning the novel, “Room,” which was made into an award-winning film.
Her latest novel tells the story of three women who work in an understaffed maternity hospital in the early years of 20th century Dublin.
They include Nurse Julia Power, who is caring for expectant mothers that are suffering from a mysterious illness.
The other two characters include a young volunteer, Bridie Sweeney, as well as the real-life Dr. Kathleen Lynn, a Sinn Fein revolutionary leader, who worked as a house surgeon at the Rotunda Hospital and as a general practitioner in Rathmines, Dublin.
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Read Kathleen Lynn, Irishwoman, Patriot, Doctor
Donoghue’s novel shows how the lives of the three characters intertwine as they cope with loss and incurable disease.
Her detailed research will certainly help readers interested in discovering early 20th-century Dublin.
History of The Rotunda Hospital
The hospital that the characters work in, while a fictional location, could surely have been the Rotunda Hospital, the oldest continuously operating maternity hospital in the world.
The Rotunda Hospital was founded in 1745 by Bartholomew Mosse, a surgeon and male midwife, who had lost his first wife and newborn during labor.
Mosse’s goal was to provide medical care for the penniless mothers of Dublin who lived in awful conditions.
Few doctors had midwifery training at the time and those who practiced it were often penalized.
Mosse sought to change all of that by creating a dedicated maternity hospital in Dublin’s inner city.
The Rotunda Hospital, first known as the “Hospital for the Relief of Poor Lying-In Women Dublin,” referring to the suggested month-long postpartum period, was eventually granted a Royal Charter by King George II in 1756.
The charter raised its status from a small charitable institution to that of national status and worthy of government funding.
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While the original 10-bed hospital was housed in a former theater building on George's Lane, it was clear that after the first year and the successful delivery of 190 babies that a newer, more modern hospital would be needed.
The noted architect Richard Cassells, who also happened to be Mosse's friend, was asked to design the new one.
Cassell's notable works include Leinster House, Trinity College, and Russborough House, among others.
An opulent chapel was added to the new building, which attracted many of the city's wealthy residents.
Learn more about the Rotunda by taking a virtual tour.