The history and heritage of St James's Hospital, Dublin

Davis Coakley & Mary Coakley

'[A] detailed and lavishly illustrated study of the history of the hospital.' Brigit McCone, Irish Lives Remembered, (Autumn/Winter 23).

'[A] fascinating and extremely well-written account of the evolution of the institution from poor house to teaching hospital [...] A fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the history of Dublin, of Irish society or healthcare [...] It is filled with characters beyond the inmates, patients, administrators and clinicians that walked its corridors, dormitories and wards. The list of authors who have touched or been touched by the events described in the book is indicative of the richness of its history; Jonathan Swift, Emily Brontë, James Clarence Mangan, George Bernard Shaw, Patrick Kavanagh and Thomas Kinsella all play their part. The book is comprehensively referenced and illustrated, many of these illustrations from private collections that have not recently or previously been published. One of these, the eighteenth century seal of the workhouse presents the motto “The diligent hand maketh rich”. The History and Heritage of St James's Hospital, Dublin is a diligent work of many years by the authors and, in addition to being an exemplary work of history is rich in detail, interest and anecdote', Joseph Harbison, Dublin Review of Books (Jan. 2019).