Mary Josephine Hannan LRCPI & SI &LM (c1865–c1935) was the first Irishwoman to graduate LRCPI & SI and LM.

Career

Almost nothing is known about Hannan's early life or who her parents were. Hannan was one of the first women to study in the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

in Ireland. She graduated in 1890 while living in Riverstown, Killucan, Co. Westmeath. By 1892 she had moved to India and was working in the Victoria Hospital, Kotah State and then the Dufferin Hospital, Ulwar State. In 1894 she became Chief medical officer in the

Lady Dufferin Hospital Lady Dufferin Hospital is located in Karachi, Sindh. The hospital, which was completed in 1898, was named after the British peeress Lady Dufferin. Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, gave birth to a son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ...

in Shikarpar, Upper Sind. At this time she was appointed the honorary medical adviser to the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

. Hannan returned to the United Kingdom, first living in

Cardiff, Wales Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, from about 1896 to 1899. She was once more in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1900 and lived and worked in Lower Mount St. for about 5 years. On the census for 1901 she has a young patient staying with her and a governess and nurse from India as well as the domestic servants. In 1905 she moved again to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Initially she lived in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, before in 1910, settling for a few years in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. Hannan lectured in midwifery and served as medical officer at the Victoria Maternity Hospital from 1914 to 1921. She tended to native women including working with them on venereal diseases. She was also part of the medical section of the Union Defence Force from 1918. Hannan published papers on public health through the 1920s before retiring in 1931. She lived for a period of the twenties, 1924–1927, in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

but the rest of the time was in

. Before she died she spent time in

Hartbeespoort Hartbeespoort, informally also known as "Harties", is a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, situated on slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain and the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam. The name of the town means "gateway of th ...

, Transvaal. Her exact date of death is unknown. She still appeared on the medical register until 1937 but is believed to have died in 1935.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannan, Mary 1865 births 1935 deaths Irish women medical doctors