Walking Through History: The Moygownagh Ramblers Honor a Mayo Revolutionary
/From the lecture halls to the Irish countryside, our journey through the legacy of Dr. Kathleen Lynn—trailblazing doctor, activist, and unsung daughter of Mayo.
MICHAEL DAVITT MUSEUM
Tuesday March 25th
Celebrating the significant birthday; on Tuesday Night last, of a Mayo man born 179 years ago; some of our Rambling House Group attended a lecture titled Kathleen Lynn: Revolutionary Doctor; delivered by Professor Dr. Yvonne Mc Dermott, at the Michael Davitt Museum, Straide, Co Mayo.
During 2025, the Museum is delivering a series of lectures; acknowledging Women in Irish History, who made meaningful contributions through politics, social justice and female empowerment, in society; in conjunction with the commemoration of the birth of Michael Davitt on March 25th 1846.
Although I did attend this lecture: I also researched the subject, finding an assortment of interesting facts; similar to and also different from those presented in the lecture.
Dr. Kathleen Lynn, the daughter of a Church of Ireland Clergyman, was born on January 28th 1874, in Mullafarry, Killala, Co Mayo; she died at the age of 81, on September 14th 1955, in Rathmines, Co. Dublin. She is buried in Deansgrange Cemetery, Dublin. Her family moved to different locations in Ireland, on a regular basis, due to her father's position in life.
Dr. Kathleen Lynn bequested her Glenmalure Holiday Cottage in Co. Wicklow to An Óige, the Irish Youth Hostel Association.
In her publications: The Diaries of Dr. Kathleen Lynn, which are archived in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland: she claims that at aged 16, the deprivation of her surroundings, (Cong, Co Mayo); in the aftermath of the great famine, inspired her to become a doctor; to assist the poor and needy.
Dr. Lynn graduated as a medical practitioner in 1899, with most of her medical achievements centred around Dublin, her work at Saint Ultans Childrens' Hospital, defined her medical career. She was also the chief medical officer during the 1916 Easter Rising.
Dr. Lynn became politically active around 1903, first with the Irish Womens' Suffragettes Movement: Local Government Accociation, the British Womens' Social and Political Union; the Dublin 1913 Lock-Out. She also joined the Irish Citizens Army. Dr. Lynn was elected Vice President of Sinn Féin in 1917; was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1923, but did not take up her seat. She lost her seat in the 1927 General Election. Some two months later she unsuccessfully contested a Dublin County by-election. She remained active within the Rathmines Urban District Council until 1930. Dr. Lynn among others, found themselves imprisoned in Kilmainham Goal for activities involving guns and ammunition, during the 1916 Easter Rising.
James Connolly chose Dr. Kathleen Lynn to carry the "Plough and the Stars" the official Flag of Irish Citizens Army, (which symbolised a free Ireland, that would control its own destiny by regulating it's means of production from the plough to the stars) from Liberty Hall to the General Post Office because she was a woman; doctor, protestant and suffragette. Dr. Lynn embodied the type of Republic James Connolly envisaged; egalitarian, non-sectarian, also one based on gender equality.
After it's completion in 1989: Cong's Health Centre, Co Mayo, was named; The Lynn Medical Centre, in honour of Dr. Kathleen Lynn.
A commerative stamp was issued in 2016 featuring Dr. Kathleen Lynn and Elizabeth O Farrell representing the roles played by female combatants of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Dr. Kathleen Lynn's character is played by Maeve Fitzgerald in The Pull of the Stars: a historical fiction novel, inspired by the centenary of the Spanish flu published in 2020, by Emma Donoghue; adapted as a play and hosted at the Gate Theater, Dublin. This body of work is set in a Dublin maternity hospital, telling the story of Dr. Lynn's achievements in trying to combat the effects of the 1918 Spanish Flu. She recommended fresh air, social distancing, cleanliness and a good diet!
Dublin City Council unveiled a comerative plaque on the former St. Ultan's Hospital (which is now the Clayton Hotel Charlemont since 2018) in honour of its co-founders Dr. Kathleen Lynn and Madeleine fFrench-Mullen.
Wild Flowers of Ireland: is a book photographed and written by Zoë Devlin, a distant relative of Dr. Kathleen Lynn, who introduced Zoë to flowering plants as a very young child.
Other places named locally in her memory are: Kathleen Lynn Lane, Ballina Town. Killala Park has an Oak Tree and a Plaque.
It has been suggested that the new children's hospital under construction on the campus of St. James's Hospital, Dublin, be named in Dr. Kathleen Lynn's honour.
Sadly though: after a privileged education both in Ireland, Manchester UK, and Düsseldorf in Germany; her work experience in the US, leading to a prestigious medical career, after a rocky start, because she was a woman in a male dominated profession; she soon forgot her humble roots; the home of her inspiration.
I can find no evidence to suggest that Dr. Lynn ever returned to the West of Ireland; or to Mullafarry, in particular. Mayo did not benifit from either her medical expertise apart from generalised use of vaccinations, or her political leadership.
Sources: Wikipedia. Kilmainham Goal Museum. Connaught Telegraph: Tuesday February 9th 2016. Plaques of Dublin, June 20th 2022.
cso.ie as gaeilge - Statistics Database.