Professor Davis Coakley (1946-2022) was an outstanding physician, historian, and leader of reform in medical services and education.

This inaugural Davis Coakley Memorial Lecture explores the position of the physician-historian in medical historiography, discusses Coakley’s extensive historical work (especially his many books about the history of medicine), and concludes with comments about one of Coakley’s great interests: the work of Sir William Wilde (1815-1876).

Sir William was a prominent Victorian doctor, father of playwright Oscar, and remarkably prescient commentator on public health in Ireland. Sir William’s comments about patterns of epidemics are especially arresting and relevant today in the immediate wake of Covid-19.

Professor Brendan Kelly (Professor of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin) will deliver the lecture.

Booking: Email info@edwardworthlibrary.ie.