E-book
The last Irish plague : the great flu epidemic in Ireland 1918-19
Record details
- ISBN: 071653164X
- ISBN: 9780716531647
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Physical Description:
1 online resource (xvi, 224 pages) : illustrations, maps
remote - Publisher: Dublin : Irish Academic Press, 2011.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 198-216) and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | Chapter 7 Putting Order on Disease: Naming and Understanding the Great FluChapter 8 'The plague will long be remembered'?; Chapter 9 Consequences; Conclusion A 'tale of disaster'?; Notes; Select Bibliography; Index. |
| Restrictions on Access Note: | NLC staff and students only. |
| Language Note: | English. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 -- Ireland |
| Genre: | Electronic books. Electronic books. |
- Book News
Revising her PhD dissertation in history at University College Dublin (no date noted), Foley describes the effect in Ireland of the influenza epidemic that swept the entire world at the end of World War I and killed some 50 million people to become the largest outbreak of any infectious disease known to modern science. She draws heavily on first-person accounts to explore such aspects as the demography of the epidemic, the social impact of the Great Flu, medical response to the outbreak, responsibility and accountability, and consequences. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) - International Specialized Book Services
Decimating as many as 100 million people in the space of a few months, the Great Flu of 1918-1919 was one of the worst outbreaks of disease in global history, totally eclipsing the damage wreaked by the First World War. In Ireland, the Registrar-General felt that not since the Great Famine had an outbreak of disease caused such havoc. The influenza found its way into every corner of Ireland, infecting as many as 800,000 people, and taking over 20,000 lives. All across the country, there were cases of families almost being wiped out by this mysterious malady as hospitals and workhouses heaved with the sudden influx of influenza-stricken patients. Despite the fact that it claimed many more lives than the Easter Rising, the War of Independence, and the Civil War combined, the Great Flu is rarely incorporated into the narrative of 20th-century Ireland. The Last Irish Plague explores this catastrophe, teasing out the full dimensions of a lethal and widespread outbreak of disease. It offers an illuminating account of an event from Ireland's past which has remained undocumented for almost a hundred years. In November 2011 the author was awarded the prestigious Publication Prize in Irish History by the National University of Ireland. Commenting on this book, the panel remarked that 'This is an excellent, multi faceted study of a relatively neglected episode. There is no aspect, however unexpected of the great flu that Dr Foley has not exhaustively researched in this fascinating and graphic historical reconstruction'.
