John Benignus Lyons (22 July 1922 – 25 October 2007), better known as J. B. Lyons and widely known as Jack Lyons, was an Irish physician, medical historian, writer, and professor of medical history. He was described as "one of the foremost Irish medical writers of the twentieth century".J. B. Lyons (1922–2007), ''Irish Journal of Medical Science,'' Springer London, ISSN 0021-1265 (Print), Issue Volume 177, Number 2/June 2008

Life and writings

Born in

Kilkelly Kilkelly () is a small village in Kilmovee civil parish, County Mayo, Ireland. It is just south of Ireland West Airport Knock on the N17, a national primary road running between Galway and Sligo. History Built heritage Evidence of ancient settl ...

, County Mayo, his father was a dispensary doctor. His first school was the Kilkelly National School, followed by Castleknock College. He went on to study medicine at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. He first worked in Dublin hospitals, including Mater Hospital and the County Hospital, Castlebar, County Mayo, and then moved to England. He achieved the

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

(at the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

) and in 1949 he was made a member of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. He then left to become a ship's doctor on a

cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

sailing to Japan and South America. On his return to land, Lyons settled in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, where he met, and in 1950 married, a Welsh nurse, Muriel Jones. In 1955, they and their three children, David, Kate and Jane, moved to

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is an affluent suburb of Dublin, and a seaside resort southeast of the city, and the town of Dún Laoghaire, in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in the historic County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement ...

, just outside Dublin, and Lyons became the consultant physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Dún Laoghaire and then in 1959 became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. In 1959, he became consultant physician at

Mercer's Hospital Mercer's Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Mercer) was a hospital in Dublin, Ireland. It was converted into a clinical centre and medical library for the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1991.WHO fellowship to visit leading neurological centres in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and San Francisco. He then wrote his first book, ''A Primer of Neurology'', which was published in 1974. Soon after, he began to write fictional works using the pseudonym Michael Fitzwilliam, which were set in hospitals. He then wrote more biographies and medical history books. In 1975 he was appointed Professor of the History of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. His biographies included studies of

Oliver St. John Gogarty Oliver Joseph St. John Gogarty (17 August 1878 – 22 September 1957) was an Irish poet, author, otolaryngologist, athlete, politician, and well-known conversationalist. He served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel ...

(published in 1976 and 1980), a biography of Tom Kettle (1983) and of the Irish-African explorer Surgeon-Major Parke (1994). Lyons wrote much about Irish medical history and contributed chapters to other books, including ''Diseases in Dubliners: Tokens of Disaffection'' (1981)

Selected works by J. B. Lyons

* The citizen surgeon: a biography of Sir

Victor Horsley Sir Victor Alexander Haden Horsley (14 April 1857 – 16 July 1916) was a British scientist and professor. He was born in Kensington, London. Educated at Cranbrook School, Kent, he studied medicine at University College London and in Berlin, Ge ...

1857-1916 (London: Peter Dawnay, 1966) * James Joyce and medicine (Dublin: Dolmen Press, 1973) * A primer of neurology (London: Butterworths, 1974) * Brief lives of Irish doctors (Dublin: Blackwater, 1978) *

: the man of many talents: a biography (Dublin: Blackwater, 1980) * The enigma of Tom Kettle: Irish patriot, essayist, poet, British soldier, 1880-1916 (Dublin: Glendale Press, 1983) * An assembly of Irish surgeons: lives of presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in the 20th century (Dublin: Glendale Press & Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 1984) * The irresistible rise of the R.C.S.I. / by J. B. Lyons, H. O’Flanagan and W. A. L. MacGowan. (Dublin, 1984) * Thrust syphilis down to hell and other rejoyceana : studies in the border-lands of literature and medicine (Dublin: Glendale, 1988) * The quality of Mercer’s: the story of Mercer’s Hospital, 1734-1991 (Dublin: Glendale, 1991) * What did I die of? : the deaths of Parnell, Wilde, Synge, and other literary pathologies (Dublin : Lilliput Press, 1991) * Surgeon-Major Parke’s African journey 1887-89 (Dublin: Lilliput Press, 1994) * A pride of professors: the professors of medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 1813 - 1985 (Dublin: A. & A. Farmar, 1999) * 2000 years of Irish medicine (Dublin, 1999)

Later life

In 2002 the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland published Borderlands: essays on literature and medicine in honour of J. B. Lyons / edited by Davis Coakley and Mary O’Doherty (Dublin: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 2002). J. B. Lyons died, aged 85, in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, J. B, Irish writers 1922 births 2007 deaths People from County Mayo Irish neurologists Irish non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Alumni of University College Dublin Irish biographers Irish male writers Male biographers Irish medical historians People educated at Castleknock College 20th-century biographers Place of death missing 20th-century male writers Physicians of the Mercer's Hospital Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Male non-fiction writers Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom