The documentary, made by Loopline films, makes extensive use of Kathleen Lynn’s Diaries and the Saint Ultan’s Hospital archive, both of which are held by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland’s Archive.  One of the most important Irish female doctors of the twentieth century, Lynn was not only a medical pioneer but a social and political activist.

Kathleen Lynn was born in 1874 in county Mayo, the second child of Robert Lynn, a Church of Ireland clergyman. Having been educated in Manchester, Düsseldorf and Alexandra College, Dublin, Lynn graduated in medicine from Cecilia Street (the Catholic University medical school) in 1899. As well as her medical career, Lynn was an active suffragist, labour activist and nationalist, and was friends with many of the leading figures of the day. The influence of James Connolly, her work in the soup kitchens during the 1913 lockout, and involvement with the Irish Women Workers' Union brought her into close contact with the Dublin poor. This lead to a lifelong campaign to improve the living conditions of Dublin’s poorer citizens.

A member of the Irish Citizen's Army she taught first-aid to Cumann na mBan and was the chief medical officer during the 1916 rising. In the aftermath of the rising she was imprisoned in Kilmainham with her close friends Madeleine ffrench-Mullen, Helena Molony and Constance Markievicz. After her release she was an active member of Sinn Fein, serving as vice-president of the executive in 1917, as well as being a leading figure in Cumann na dTeachtaire. Lynn was elected TD for Dublin County on the anti-treaty side in 1923 but did not take her seat.

Lynn's medical career is defined by her work in Saint Ultan's Hospital, which she established in 1919 with a group of female activists to provide medical and educational facilities for impoverished mothers and infants. In response to Lynn's earlier difficulties in getting a staff position at a hospital because of her gender, Saint Ultan's was managed entirely by female doctors although males were employed for specialities. When the hospital opened in 1919 it had only two cots, but it rapidly grew and developed. In 1937 Dr Dorothy Stopford-Price introduced the BCG vaccination for TB, the hospital would later become the headquarters of the National BCG Committee. 

To find out more about Kathleen Lynn and the College’s collections relating to her, please visit the Heritage Centre Blog or the archive catalogue. If you are interested in viewing any of the archival material please contact the archivist Harriet Wheelock on harrietwheelock@rcpi.ie or +353 (0)1 6698817