“Doctors for Export”: Medical Migration from Ireland, c.1860–1960 by Greta Jones

Abstract

Reviewed by: “Doctors for Export”: Medical Migration from Ireland, c.1860–1960 by Greta Jones Ian Miller Greta Jones. “Doctors for Export”: Medical Migration from Ireland, c.1860–1960. Clio Medica. Leiden: Brill, 2022. xiv + 248 pp. €119.00 (978-9-0043-2445-9). The Irish have a long-standing tradition of migrating, and it comes as no surprise that trained medical workers followed this broader trend. Research pertaining to Irish migration and medicine has thus far focused on mental health issues or the physical health problems that less affluent migrants found themselves exposed to, particularly during the Famine (1845–52). In “Doctors for Export”: Medical Migration from Ireland, c.1860–1960, Greta Jones makes a hugely important contribution by shifting the focus toward skilled, often middle-class, doctors who, for various reasons, sought professional work outside of the island where they had trained. [End Page 163] Doctors for Export covers considerable ground, commencing in the nineteenth century at a time when Dublin, for a brief period, was a leading western medical center. However, times changed. After the Famine, it became more usual for doctors trained in Ireland to seek employment in other parts of the world. Jones explores this phenomenon up until the 1960s, taking the reader through a turbulent century of tense Anglo-Irish relations, independence (for the south of Ireland), partition, conflict, and enormous upheaval in social relations. As well as exploring the peculiarities of Irish medical migration, Jones also reflects upon the more general issues that arise when doctors leave one country to practice in another. Themes of supply and demand also recur throughout the book. For what reasons do some countries accept doctors from outside their borders? One of many impressive aspects of Doctors for Export is its usefulness as a gateway into Irish medical history for general readers who might be unfamiliar with the ins-and-outs of Ireland. An opening chapter takes us through the development of Irish medical institutions in the nineteenth century. Then, as now, Catholic-Protestant relations shaped medical provision. Hospitals in cities such as Belfast often took on either a Protestant or Catholic identity. Traditional centers of medical training such as Trinity College Dublin were viewed negatively as a haven for Protestants. This segregation of medical institutions produced an abundance of hospitals that ended up contributing to an over-supply of trained doctors. If there simply wasn’t enough work for trained medical students in Ireland, then many decided to look elsewhere. Given the nature of anti-British sentiment across the period in question, it seems ironic that many Irish people secured employment in the British Empire. This rang true too for trained Irish doctors, many of whom joined either the armed services or the British colonial medical services. The Indian Medical Service proved particularly appealing, a theme Jones explores with impeccable detail. Inevitably, the broader narrative of Doctors for Export changes with the partition of Ireland in 1921, which ultimately created two distinct medical systems operating on one island. In the north, Protestant culture now predominated in the medical profession, while a strong Catholic ethos permeated medical activity south of the border. Regardless, many trained doctors still continued to migrate to Britain and elsewhere seeking professional work. In addition to Britain, many doctors emigrated to America. Jones devotes a detailed chapter to America and reveals the complexities of migrating to a country that demanded high-quality, skilled, and fully trained medical migrants. Doctors for Export is a hugely impressive contribution to both Irish and global medical historiography. The book benefits from a truly rich level of qualitative and quantitative research and thorough analysis that is attentive to sensitive matters such as Irish identity. Jones writes with clarity, ensuring that this book will appeal to a wide audience and undoubtedly end up being essential reading for students and scholars alike. As well as appealing to medical historians, Doctors for Export will attract positive attention from scholars working in cognate areas such as the history of migration. Toward the end, Jones hints at an intriguing post-Second World War history of medical migration into, rather than out of, Ireland, and it would [End Page 164] be fascinating for future historians...