ANCIENT IRISH MEDICINE

New Zealand Tablet, 20 May 1915, Page 43

ANCIENT IRISH MEDICINE

•.;...;■; From very early days the Irish physicians were famous for their skill and devotion to their profession (writes Dr. J; G. Coyle in the New York Catholic News), ;_v„ Besides the Druids, in pagan days, who practised medicine as well as their religious spells and ceremonies, there were physicians who made a profession of medicine. One of the old legends tells of the great Dianket, who, it was believed, could cure all diseases. His son, Midac, and his daughter, Airmeda, ' were as skilled as himself. Dianket became jealous of Midac's great fame and killed him. From the young doctor's grave there grew up 365 herbs, each with great virtue. Each had grown from some joint or sinew of the dead Midac and could cure the diseases of that part of the human body from which it had grown. Airmeda plucked these herbs and carefully sorted them, preserving them in her mantle. But Dianket found them and mixed them all up, so that no one could tell the special herbs. But for this, every physician, says the legend, would be able to cure every disease known to mankind. The tales of the famous Red Branch Knights bear frequent mention of 'the physicians and surgeons. The doctors accompanied the armies, each one equipped with a bag, slung from his shoulder, containing herbs, bandages, ointments, and other necessaries. Then followed in the rear of the army, each company of physicians under the commanding physician. At the end of the day's fighting, or during it, if possible, they rendered aid to the wounded. Not only did the physicians in the service of the chieftains and kings serve the wounded of their own army, but they rendered aid to the wounded of the foe, on the Red Cross principle of to-day. Two thousand years ago, when Kehern, the Ulster hero, was badly wounded, fighting against the Connaughtmen, and, covered with wounds, was forced to retire, he sent for physicians to the Connaughtmen, for none of his own doctors were at hand. And surgical aid was promptly sent to the wounded chieftain from his enemy's camp. The. physician to the king or chieftain was well paid. He had a house and a tract of land for himself, free of all rent arid taxes, and received certain allowances. Often he was permitted to practise for fees outside the king's household. Some of these, physicians lived in great -state. The Brehon laws fixed the fees for all operations and medical attendances. But the laws made the physicians careful. If he failed to heal a wound because of lack of care or want of skill, his patient might bring him before a Brehon. If the judge were satisfied that the doctor gave improper care or treatment, he would fine the physician the same amount as if the doctor himself had caused the original wound, besides making him give up his fee. Medicine, like law, ran in families in Ireland. Some of the families, such as the O'Shicls, O'Cassidy's, OTlickey's, and O'Lees had generations of doctors, each generation benefiting by the experience of the preceding one. The doctors kept their observations very carefully, writing down every possibly useful treatment and giving minute directions about the successiul management of cases, which, as these books were carefully preserved, made an ever-growing medical library of great service. Many such volumes are preserved in the library at Dublin. K One such book contains a preface, written in Irish, which shows the spirit and the professional feeling of the doctors of six hundred years ago in Ireland. The writer says: ''..'. >v May the good God have mercy on us all. I have here collected practical rules of medicine from several works, for the honor of God, for the benefit of the Irish people, for the instruction of my pupils, and for the love of my friends and my kindred. I have translated many of them into Gaelic from Latin books, containing the lore of the great leeches of Greece and Rome. .These are sweet and profitable things which have been often tested by us and by our instructors.

I pray God to bless those doctors who will use this book; .and I lay it as an injunction on their souls, that they extract knowledge from it hot.,by any means sparingly, and that they: do not neglect the practical rules herein contained. More especially do I charge them that they do their duty devotedly in; cases where they receive no ! payment on account of -the poverty of their 1 patients. Let every physician before he begins his treatment; offer up a secret prayer for the sick person, and implore the Heavenly Father, the Physician and Balm-Giver of all mankind, to prosper the work he is entering upon and »to save himself and his patients from failure.' Nothing better illustrates the attitude of the medical profession in Ireland towards the sick than the foregoing quotation. The beautiful Christian spirit of faith and of service shows in the words of . the worthy doctor of long ago. There were hospitals all over the country in ancient Ireland, under Christian times, some managed by lay persons, some managed by monks. Physicians and nurses attended these hospitals. The old Brehon laws cover the question of hospitals as well as the 'other details of Irish life. The hospital had to have four doors for ventilation. A stream of clear, pure water must run through the middle of the floor. Patients must be placed only in the beds designated for them by the physician. Noisy, talkative persons must-be kept away from the sick. Those who could pay for services were expected to do so. Those who were poor were treated free. The present workmen's compensation law had a counterpart in ancient. Ireland. The law provided that if one wounded or made another ill unlawfully, the responsible person had to.pay for the care and treatment of the wounded or ill person in the hospital, including the fees of the physician and one or more nurses. From these brief references to ancient Irish medicine, one sees that the profession of medicine in the Isle of Destiny was an honorable one, that its practitioners were animated with the noble spirit that has ever distinguished the true physician, and that the doctors themselves were worthy men, to whom the present generation of physicians can look back with reverence and respect.