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 ...

in Ireland. She graduated in 1890 while living in Riverstown, Killucan, County 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

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

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. Hannan returned to the United Kingdom, first living in Cardiff, Wales, from about 1896 to 1899. She was once more in Dublin 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. Initially she lived in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

, before in 1910, settling for a few years in Pretoria. 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 but the rest of the time was in Pretoria. Before she died she spent time in

Hartbeespoort Hartbeespoort, informally 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 the h ...

, 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 1860s births 1935 deaths Irish women medical doctors Medical doctors from County Westmeath 19th-century Irish medical doctors 19th-century Irish women medical doctors 20th-century Irish medical doctors