Upon entering the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) and walking through its halls, the most prominent thing that […]
Poison for Penitence: A Hydrogen Peroxide Experiment on Infants in Dublin’s Regina Coeli Hostel
On October 18, 1947, the medical officer of Regina Coeli Hostel wrote: “Of 14 infants to whose feeds Hydrogen Peroxide […]
From One to Many
Fifty years ago, the notion of Ireland as one of the leading countries on transgender recognition would have been laughable. […]
“Your God Cannot Be Mine:” British Reactions to the 1992 Irish X Case
Around the world, abortion and reproductive rights are under fire.[1] Women in the Irish Free State are all too familiar […]
Confining yet Convenient: Using Gender Norms to Defend Oneself in Cases of Rural Spousal Violence in Post-Independence Ireland
Before divorce was legalized in Ireland in 1995, spouses desperate for freedom from an unhappy marriage sometimes turned to killing […]
The Virgins’ Malady: How Marriage Became a Medical Treatment
“Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, / Who is already sick and pale with grief /… / Be […]
Review of Minji Lee, The Medieval Womb: Hildegard of Bingen’s Views on the Female Reproductive Body (Arc Humanities Press, 2025)
I teach a course called “Women and Medicine” that explores the history of women as medical practitioners, patients, and objects […]
Lessons from the Earth: Earthquakes, Gardens, and Public Health
Around 9:40am, on Saturday November 1st, 1755, the earth shook in Lisbon. Likely a 8.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, […]
Marked: Birthmarks and Historical Myths of Maternal Responsibility
“You ate a lot of strawberries when you were pregnant with that baby, didn’t you?” When I was a child, […]
Transatlantic Diagnostics: A Tale of Divergences in the History of Autism
A comparative analysis of how France and the United States have scientifically investigated autism over the course of the later […]
