The Mater Hospital: Where History is Made
Irish History Podcast
Fin Dwyer
4.7 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 21 October 2019
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Mater Hospital in Dublin first opened its doors in 1861. It has a fascinating although often forgotten history. From using cocaine as pain relief in the 19th century to treating the wounded of the 1916 Rising, the hospital has always been a fascinating place.
Strange as it sounds, it is also where I first came up with the idea to start podcasting. In 2010 having been diagnosed with Crohn's disease I was unable to work and to keep myself occupied I started making this show. Fast forward ten years and nearly 20 operations, podcasting has now become my full time career.
In this show I return to the Mater to look at the extraordinary history of the hospital. In what is a very special episode recorded in the old victorian wing, I look at what the hospital was like in the late 19th century. The archivist Helen Madden gives fascinating insights into
- What was 19th century operations were like.
- What was hospital food like in the early days?
- How the Mater treated those injured in the 1916 Rising.
- The story of the republican hunger-striker Thomas Ashe who died in the Mater in 1917.
- How tensions rose between the hospital staff and the IRA during the War of Independence after a patient in a nearby hospital was executed!
I also interviewed Prof Ronan Cahill about the extraordinary history being made in the Mater today through the use of robotics and AI.
I would like to thank Helen Madden & Professor Ronan Cahill for taking the time to talk to me and Debbie Killeen for her work in making this episode possible.
www.twitter.com/irishhistory
www.patreon.com/irishpodcast
www.materfoundation.ie
Become a supporter & access dozens of exclusive podcasts
Patreon www.patreon.com/irishpodcast
Acast https://plus.acast.com/s/irishhistory
📢June 2023 Update - New Walking Tour 📢
I am thrilled to announce my brand new walking tour in Ireland's oldest city, Waterford. Join me and explore 1,000 years of history from the Vikings to Cromwell & Strongbow to the Irish Revolution. Enhanced by wireless headsets 🎧 you will hear the sounds of the city through the ages and the words of the people who made history in Waterford. Tours take place each Saturday and places are strictly limited to 15 people. Book your place today at www.Irishhistorypodcast.ie/tours
*New Book: A Lethal Legacy - A History of Ireland in 18 Murders *
My new book A Lethal Legacy - A History of Ireland in 18 Murders is available for Pre-Order now. If you order your copy today at Easons and use the promo code FD10 you get a 10% discount
Easons https://www.easons.com/a-lethal-legacy-finbar-dwyer-9780008555993
Promo code FD10
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Attention at all passengers. You can now book your train tickets on Uber and get 10% back in Uber credits to spend on your next train journey. |
| 0:11.0 | So no excuses not to visit your in-laws this Christmas. |
| 0:16.5 | Trains now on Uber. T's and C's apply check the Uber app. Little things, like taking a shortcut through the park on your way to work each day can make a big difference to your |
| 0:36.6 | mental health. Find your little big thing, |
| 0:47.0 | little big thing at every mind matters. So what was quite popular for smaller operations was cocaine, local anesthetic of cocaine. |
| 1:08.0 | Surgery at the early phases was almost feasibility, you know, could it be possible, is it even doable, |
| 1:10.0 | and can a person survive through it. |
| 1:21.0 | And there's instances of nurses and medical staff trying to figure it how to help an IRA patient escape. So they're talking about sometimes chloroforming these detectives. |
| 1:24.0 | Hello and welcome to the Irish history podcast. |
| 1:28.0 | My name is Finn Duwar and this is a very special episode of the show recorded live in the matter hospital in |
| 1:35.1 | Dublin. Before we go any further I'm about to step in the main entrance of the |
| 1:39.4 | old Victorian hospital to tell you about the fascinating journey that lies ahead of us. |
| 1:44.0 | I'm inside what was the main entrance to the matter hospital through the 19th century |
| 1:52.0 | and the 20th century. This building that I'm standing in today |
| 1:55.3 | has played a central role not only in the history of medicine in Ireland but the |
| 1:59.3 | wider political story of Dublin. It was here that victims of the |
| 2:02.8 | 1916 rising, those injured in the conflict were treated. In |
| 2:06.7 | 1917 the famous Republican hunger striker Thomas Ash |
| 2:10.8 | died here in the hospital and later on I'll be recording a segment in the very room where he died. |
| 2:17.0 | Michael Collins would also have to come here during the War of Independence when tensions arose between the hospital authorities and the IRA. |
| 2:24.8 | All those stories are ahead of us. |
| 2:26.4 | But what fascinates me more than anything else is the story of the 19th century medicine. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Fin Dwyer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Fin Dwyer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.