The Medicalisation of Death in a Dublin City Workhouse, 1872-1920

Abstract

This thesis examines the role the South Dublin Union (SDU) workhouse played in Dublin's medical landscape for the sick and dying poor in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries during periods of normal operation. Advancements in epidemiology and medical innovation resulted in the medicalisation of society, in which the physicians? domain transitioned from the home to a hospital setting. As city hospitals sought to cultivate the reputation of a respectable and curative institution, administrators prioritised the admission of treatable patients. This resulted in the workhouse functioning as the largest and most accessible institution for the poor and working classes. Although the workhouse was introduced for the provision of poor relief, by the end of the nineteenth century, medicine became a significant aspect of its functioning. Using 1913 as a focus year, this thesis analyses the 862 individuals who died in the South Dublin Union during that year. These individuals were traced from admission to burial to ascertain how they interacted with the workhouse for end of life care and how they were treated by Poor Law officials. This research primarily derives from the SDU Board of Guardians' administrative records with an emphasis on the mortuary register. The examination of the mortuary register provides a novel approach for researching workhouse mortality whilst facilitating a comparison with select voluntary hospitals. The Guardians' minute books and Poor Law Officer handbooks offer insight into how workhouse staff were supposed to manage and bury the dead, which highlights the contrast between how the institution was supposed to be operated and the reality. This thesis relies upon case studies to determine the experience of death and dying in the workhouse. Case studies provide valuable insight into how inmates interacted with the institution and the role of family advocacy in instances of misconduct. This research contributes to the scholarship on workhouse death by examining the profile of the dead and institutional administration outside of epidemics or periods of crisis.