The History of Knowledge in Ireland: Where do we Stand Today? Annual Meeting of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (HSTM) Network Ireland April 24th 2026 University of Limerick The annual meeting of the HSTM Network Ireland will be held this year, in person, at the University of Limerick. We welcome the submission of … More Call for Paper: HSTM Network Annual Meeting 2026
Dr Thierry Renaux Aluminium is the most common metal of the Earth’s crust, but it does not exist in its native state. Three successive operations are necessary to obtain pure aluminium: the extraction of the ore, bauxite; the production of the alumina, or aluminium oxide, from this ore; and finally, the production of aluminium. This … More Larne: from Genesis to Dismantling of an Early Alumina Industry (1894-present day)
By Dr Anne Mac Lellan As certain nebulae are resolved into stars by powerful telescopes, so specific chest sounds, obscure from their lowness, may be determined by the double stethoscope. Arthur Leared, 1856. The Great Exhibition, held in London’s Crystal Palace in 1851, displayed the wonderful, the beautiful, the useful and the bizarre inventions of … More Listening with Both Ears: The Irish Origins of the Double Stethoscope
By Dr Conor Heffernan, Ulster University When is it appropriate to criticise, even mock, someone with a medical condition? Is there a point at which we can insult an individual, or even a group, enough for them to overcome their condition? Better yet, can we shame those around them for ‘allowing’ this to happen? What … More “Our Kids are a Nation of Fatties”: Discovering Obesity in Celtic Tiger Ireland
by Dr Mauve Carbonell In the early 1970s, driven by an overall increase in needs for raw materials – aluminium in particular – the Alcan company established an alumina production plant in Aughinish near Limerick.[1] But why build a plant costing several hundred million pounds in the middle of the Irish countryside, in Aughinish, on … More The Largest Industrial Investment in Ireland’s History: The Aughinish Alumina Refinery in a Globalised Aluminium Economy
by Dr Carly Collier ‘Does Dublin enjoy a pre-eminence in typhoid?’ asked an Evening Telegraph journalist in November 1891 of Sir Charles Cameron, Dublin’s esteemed Medical Superintendent Officer of Health.1 As a powerful local government official in a very public-facing role, Cameron was well-known in Dublin already, but as the Telegraph reflected, ‘[o]f late he … More Typhoid, Cockles & Terrorism: How a Disease Shaped Modern Dublin
Mary Heffernan Outside of literary settings, accounts of the introduction of psychoanalysis have been neglected in the historiography of Ireland. It is widely accepted that the all-pervading dominance of conflicting political and religious identities left little capacity for alternative forms of thinking on the self, particularly prior to the revolutionary period. Psychoanalyst Ernest Jones bemoaned … More ‘To the Glory of Freud’* The life and work of Dr William Graham (1857-1917)
Text: Dr Elizabethanne Boran, Librarian of the Edward Worth Library, Dublin. 2022 witnessed the 500th anniversary of the birth of the famous Italian natural historian, Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605). To mark this quincentenary, the Edward Worth Library, Dublin, and the Zoological Museum in Trinity College Dublin, created a joint exhibition which continues to be available online. … More ‘Reading the Book of Nature at the Edward Worth Library and the Zoological Museum, Trinity College Dublin’, an online exhibition celebrating the wonderful world of early modern natural history!
In our interview with archivist, Helen Madden, we introduce you to one of Ireland’s history of science, medicine and technology archives. What is the name of your collection? Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Archive Overview of collection(s) (materials present, who does it relate to, etc). The collection contains the papers of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital from … More Archival Showcase – Mater Misercordiæ Archives
In our interview with archivist, Susan Leyden, we introduce you to one of Ireland’s history of science, medicine and technology archives. What is the name of your collection? Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Overview of collection(s) (materials present, who does it relate to, etc). Our collections relate to the history and development of RCSI … More Archival Showcase- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
HSTM Network Ireland 