'... it would be preposterous to bring a Protestant here' : religion, provincial politics and district nurses in Ireland, 1890-1904*

In a country where traditional or ethno-medical practices prevailed well into the twentieth century, the interface between the wider populace and ‘modern medicine’1 was complicated by undercurrents of class, cultural difference, a mixed medical economy and, perhaps more significantly, denominational concerns. With the exception of Gerard Fealy’s work on the history of nursing,2 much discussion on the social history of medicalization in the Irish context has focused on doctors; the function of nurses in that process has received relatively little attention. Even the activity of nursing orders in Ireland remains under-explored, as most discussions form part of wider studies of female religious.