?An Incalculable Amount of Misery?: The Smallpox Epidemic of 1871-3 and the South Dublin Union

Abstract

From 1871-3, Ireland experienced one of the deadliest smallpox outbreaks in the nineteenth century with at least 3,248 fatalities during the peak, yet was overshadowed by the Famine, fever, and cholera in the historiography. This dissertation seeks to determine how the South Dublin Union responded to the threat of smallpox and the influence of the medical community in preventing and managing the disease. It looks at Dublin during the epidemic and the public health factors that made people susceptible to infection and how the Poor Law Commission and the Corporation of Dublin remedied the crisis. This research also looks at the contemporary understanding of smallpox and contagion and its impact on public health, disease prevention, and ward design. When disaster struck in 1871, the Irish Poor Law of 1838 and Medical Charities Act of 1851 became a mirage. These institutions were ill equipped to handle an epidemic of this scale and the arrival of smallpox exposed the flaws in the system. The South Dublin Union Board of Guardians adopted an ad hoc and delayed response with initiatives implemented during the peak of the epidemic in 1872. This delayed and chaotic response in conjunction with strict budgets with lack of funding hindered the efficacy of treatment. The lack of preventative measures and poor sanitation made Dublin city vulnerable to the epidemic, while providing insight into medical relief under the Act of Union and the Victorian Era.