SHE is the pioneering founderof modern nursing who is saidto have been influenced by theIrish Sisters of Mercy duringthe Crimean War. But newresearch casts doubts thatFlorence Nightingale drewinspiration fromIrishnuns.The Journal of Clinical

Nursing has published a studyconducted by academic LynnMcDonald, a former CanadianMP, that questions the influ-ence of the Sisters of Mercy ontheEnglishsocial reformer.McDonald claims the Irish

nuns who nursed during theCrimean War worked at theKoulali Hospital, which hadthehighest death rateof all theBritish war hospitals duringthe 1853-1856 conflict. Ratherthan Nightingale drawinginspiration from the Irish, herinsistence on respect forpatientsandhighethicalstand-

ards influenced futuregenera-tions of Ir ish nurses,McDonaldargues.“Her influence continued

through the writing she leftbehind and the leadershipgiven by nurses she herself

mentored, including Irishnurses,” she claims.McDonald, co-founder of

theNightingaleSociety, estab-lished to safeguard the Lady ofthe Lamp’s legacy, claimsthere is no evidence to suggest

the Irishnunspioneeredhigh-qualitymodernnursingbeforeNightingale. “It is in danger ofbecoming accepted wisdom,but my research shows thatthe Irish nuns in the Crimeawere inexperienced and were

more concerned with savingsouls than bodies,” she said.“Rather than tending to thesick, they were urging themtorepent.”However, Therese Meehan,

a senior lecturer at University

College Dublin, claims theIrish were practising what sherefers to as a “careful nursingphilosophy” before Nightin-gale “discovered” it in the1850s. She said: “Contrary toMcDonald’s challenge, it is

definitely true that early- tomid-19th-century Irishnurses, mainly as Sisters ofMercy and Irish Sisters ofCharity, developed a distinc-tive system of nursing as theysought to re-establish nursingin Ireland as a skilled publicservice, following its almost300-year virtual extinction inBritainand Ireland.”McDonald contends that

noneof the IrishnunsNightin-gale encounteredhad “regularhospital experience”and thatNightingalewas farmoreexpe-riencedthanher Irishcontem-poraries, having worked inGerman, French and EnglishhospitalsbeforeCrimea.Meehan disagrees, saying

thenunshadcollectivelyprac-tised for 26 years. “They hadgained extensive experiencein nursing the general popula-tion,whoweremostly poor—people with fevers and everykind of disease and injury,often under very harsh condi-tions,” she said. “When theywerepermittedtowork inhos-pitals, usually during times ofcrisis, they brought consider-able administrative skills.”Meehan said that while the

nuns focused on spiritualneeds, they “attended first topatients’ physical needs, totheir feeding, cleanliness andsafety”. She describes theirphilosophy as “careful

nursing” and claims thisapproach was unique to Irishnurses at the time. She saidNightingale was influenced bythe sisters.“Nightingale herself

attested to the influence of oneof the Irish nurses in partic-ular,Mary ClareMoore, and toher admiration for her,” saidMeehan. “When Moore

returned early to Londonbecause of illness, Nightingalewrote to her. ‘You’re [sic]going home is the greatestblow I have had yet . . . youwere faraboveme in fitness forthe general superintendency,bothinworldlytalentofadmin-istration, and far more in thespiritual qualifications whichGodvalues inasuperior.’ ”

McDonald claims that, contrary to the accepted wisdom that Nightingale was influenced by the Sisters of Mercy, the Irish nuns were ‘more concerned with saving souls than bodies’ and the English social reformer had more hospital experience

THE Department of PublicExpenditure and Reform(DPER)approved thepaymentof a car allowance of €2,000 amonth to John Osborne, headof the Irish National Stud,despite stating the allowancewas “excessive” and a breachof the department’s “no car”policy forchief executives.The payment was sanc-

tioned because the allowancewas included inOsborne’scon-tract, which predated theAugust 2012 policyput in placeby Brendan Howlin, the min-isterat theDPER.The Irish National Stud

employs 49 people. Accordingto its latest accounts, for 2012,Osborne was paid €174,341. Itis not clear whether thisincludes the car allowance.The stud did not return calls onthe issue.In August 2011, an official in

the Department of Agricul-ture, under which the IrishNational Stud operates, wroteto the DPER seeking approvalof the allowance, which hadbeen paid to Osborne since

he took up the top job in Feb-ruary2010.In correspondence released

undertheFreedomof Informa-tion Act, an official fromHowlin’s department, LiamGleeson, replied that the carallowancewas“excessive”.“I recall giving the view

that the car allowance shouldbe based on the actual cost ofrunningacar,” saidGleeson.Nora Lynch, an official in

the agriculture department,replied that the Department ofFinance view “was that theallowance should be commen-surate with the role and afigure of €25,000 was advised,as this was in line with thenon-commercialprovisions”.The finance department

was in charge of public sectorpay policy until 2011, whenthenewDPERtookover.In December 2012, another

DPERofficialapprovedthepay-ment as it predated Howlin’spolicyof “nocarprovision”.Howlin also breached his

policy when he agreed to payJohn O’Dwyer, the new chiefofVHIHealthcare, acar allow-anceof€25,000ayear in2012.

Nuns failedto lightwayfor Lady ofthe Lamp

RATHER THANTENDING THESICK, THEYWERE URGINGTHEM TO REPENT

Study disputestheory FlorenceNightingale wasinspired by IrishSisters, writesColin Coyle

Martin Frawley

Osborne has held the top job at the National Stud for four years

Stud boss paid€24,000 despite‘no car’ policy

NEWS

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