The Importance of Being Wilde

Oscar Wilde would have been well acquainted with recent development in the medical profession as his father Sir William Wilde had been one of the leading figures in the Dublin School, with Sir Dominic Corrigan, William Stokes and Robert Graves. The Dublin School, sometimes called the golden age of medicine in Ireland flourished in the mid nineteenth century, and saw remarkable contributions to clinical medicine. William Wilde was an ear, nose and throat specialist, at a time when otology especially was in the hands of quacks. He not only developed medical understanding in this area but also invented instruments to aid diagnosis.

William Wilde's medical career has to an extent been overshadowed by the fame of his son, and the notoriety that arose from his own illicit relationships. The most famous of these relationships, between William Wilde and one of his patients Mary Travers, was to have an unexpected benefit to the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. William and Mary had been involved for some time, when William's interest died away. Mary not prepared to allow the affair to end began a campaign of harassment against William Wilde and his wife. This ended in a libel action taken by Mary against Lady Wilde; although Mary won she only received a farthing in damages. The case became the cause celebre in Dublin society and damaged not only the career of William Wilde but also Mary's father; Dr Robert Travers. A fellow of the College and professor at Trinity, he was also Assistant Keeper to Marsh's Library (see photo), to which institution he intended to leave his personal collection of books. In 1872, in the wake of the scandal involving his daughter, he was passed over for the position of Keeper of Marsh's Library. As a result of this snub Travers' left his library, containing books on history, natural sciences, theology and medicine, to the College of Physicians of Ireland where it forms an important part of the College's collections.[1]