Book of the Month: Recollections of an Irish Doctor, by Lombe Atthill

This book was first published in 1911 and its centenary has recently been marked by a re-issue in a limited edition, reflecting the value of its contribution to Irish medical and social history.

The author of the book, Dr. Lombe Atthill, was born in Co. Fermanagh in 1827, the son and grandson of Anglican clergymen, a clerical tradition that was to be carried on by Lombe’s own son.

The book is an interesting reminiscence of Irish life prior to the Famine and a modest description of Atthill’s early professional struggles. It reflects the author’s own strong Christian beliefs and principles and it is significant that it was published by The Religious Tract Society, a major British publisher of Christian literature intended initially for evangelism.

The author commenced his medical education at a very young age, being apprenticed to a surgeon at the Meath Hospital at the age of only 16. He went on to qualify as LRCSI in 1847 and take the degrees of MB and MD at Trinity College, Dublin. His interest in obstetrics and gynaecology led to him serving as Obstetric Physician to the Adelaide Hospital and, subsequently, to his election as Master of the Rotunda Hospital in 1875. He was to continue to serve the Rotunda and effect many improvements in the Hospital until his retirement in 1898.

Atthill was to serve the College of Physicians equally well, following his election as a Fellow in 1850. He acted as Censor, Registrar and Treasure before being elected President in 1888. He was actually to be the last President of the King and Queen’s College of Physicians in Ireland as the College’s name was changed to the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 1890.

Dr. Atthill’s autobiography had its origin in a lengthy article that he had published in the British Medical Journal in early 1910, “Recollections of a Long Professional Life 1844 to 1904”. This article was, presumably, a shortened version of the book as Atthill has completed the manuscript and placed it in the hands of the publisher before his sudden death in September 1910. It was published posthumously the following year.

The fine photograph of Dr. Atthill that forms the frontispiece of the book was used after his death, with the addition of the President’s gown, to create the oil painting that was presented to the College by Dr. Atthill’s children in 1913.

Robert Mills, RCPI Librarian