The development of the Nursing profession in the district

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Mary (Molly) Best pictured at the time of the Second World War wearing her ARP uniform and flanked by her daughters, Margaret and Mary. Originally from Jerrettspass, near Newry, Molly was a nurse in the First World War serving in France and on a hospital ship, HMHS St. David. Her daughters also became nurses at the Royal Victoria Hospital with Mary retraining as a Midwife and working at the Moyle Hospital in Larne. Courtesy of the Geary Family

With the development of nursing as a profession in the late 19^th and early 20th centuries, many women in Newry and Mourne were attracted to it as a career. In 1894, a nurse’s position was advertised for the Fever Hospital in the Workhouse at Daisy Hill at £17 per annum which included rations and board. In 1903, Johanna O’Mara was elected as assistant nurse. Until then there had only been one permanent nurse living in the hospital so extra provisions would have to be made to accommodate an increasing number of nurses. When there were no patients in the hospital, nurses were expected to help in the Workhouse Infirmary.

A nurses’ home was opened in 1910 in Hyde Terrace by Newry District Nursing Society, which was established in 1898. It relied on voluntary subscriptions and fundraising to provide health care to the poor. This photograph was taken by Cecil Newman in the 1960s. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

The following year, at a weekly meeting of the Board of Guardians, the resignation of three Sisters of Mercy as members of the nursing staff at the Workhouse was a matter of concern. Subsequently, an advertisement was composed for three members of a “Religious Order of Ladies” to work in the Workhouse and Infirmary and, 1904, Sisters of St John of God arrived in Newry in 1904 to take charge of the Workhouse hospital. Sisters of the Order remained at Daisy Hill Hospital until 2000 when the last Sister working there retired.

First published in 1932, ‘A New Dictionary for Nurses’, includes a list of commonly used medical terms with definitions and pronunciations. Such publications were used by nurses when training. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

In 1898, the Newry District Nursing Society was set up with its base in Hyde Terrace in the town. An extract from the Newry Reporter on 10^th March 1910 states, ‘The Newry District Nursing Society has now entered upon it’s twelfth year of existence. Since its formation it has done an inestimable amount of good work amongst the sick and suffering poor of Newry, who have derived untold benefits from the ministrations of trained, skilled, and sympathetic nurses…. No less than, 507 cases were nursed during the past year, as compared to 393 in the previous year, while the number of visits paid to the homes of the sick poor totalled 11,479.’

With the outbreak of the First and Second World Wars, again the calling for nurses was great. Rose and Josephine Cranny from Donaghmore served as nurses during the First World War. Kilkeel nurse, Margaret Anderson, served as a nurse in both World Wars. She was also in charge of the temporary hospital which was set up during the construction of the Silent Valley Reservoir in the 1920s.

Margaret Anderson pictured at the time of the First World War. Having served in both World Wars, an obituary published at the time of her death in 1956, described her as ‘Mourne’s Florence Nightingale.’ She received the Royal Red Cross, the highest decoration that could be conferred on a woman for nursing service from King George V in 1919. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Many local women spent their entire working lives in the same hospital. Violet Durkan began her forty year long career as a nurse in Daisy Hill in 1940 when there were only five nurses caring for over one hundred patients. She later became a Nursing Sister and was responsible for organising the Annual Nurses Dinner.

This watercolour was painted in 1914 by Adolf Pinch of Ellen Constance, 3rd Countess of Kilmorey who is wearing a nursing uniform. During the First World War, Lady Kilmorey was commandant of the South Down Nursing Corps which had been formed in 1913. Lady Kilmorey was also president of the Newry District Nursing Society. Courtesy of Down County Museum

In 1964, concerns were raised about staffing levels at Daisy Hill. This led to the establishment of a new Nurse Training School in the hospital with the use of training nurses relieving the situation. During these years, men were also attracted to nursing as a career. Sean McCorry trained as a nurse in the Mourne District Hospital in Kilkeel in the 1970s and worked for a short period in the Alexian Brothers Nursing Home in Rostrevor. However, he spent most of his career at Daisy Hill.

As well as working at Daisy Hill Hospital, the Sisters of St John of God purchased Courtney Hill House in Newry in 1945 which they converted into a nursing home for the elderly, with facilities for twenty-two patients. The Hospital of the Sisters of St John of God opened in 1967, providing medical, surgical and maternity services, with accommodation for forty-seven patients.

The Sisters, in partnership with the Southern Area Health Board, established the Newry and Mourne Hospice. Opened in September 1989, the six-bed unit provided palliative care. Known as St. John’s house, the Southern Area Hospice Service now provides care for patients and their families in several settings and locations across the trust.

Entry to Caring for the Community: The Development of Medicine in Newry and Mourne is free and the exhibition runs until early September 2023. For further information please contact the Curator at 0330 137 4608.

The Museum is currently offering free tours of the exhibition galleries on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.

Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org for further information.

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