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they all had a purulent skin infection and green diarrhoea due to a staphylococcus infection which had been ignored. He closed down the home temporarily and sacked the nun matron and the medical officer. Such a challenge to church personnel was very unusual for the time and a complaint was made by Bishop Daniel
Cohalan of Cork to the Papal Nuncio. The Nuncio visited Taoiseach, Eamon De Valera, but on seeing the report on the matter he had to agree that the right steps had been taken.
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267:. The two main problems confronting him were tuberculosis, where Ireland had the worst problem in Western Europe, and a high infant and maternal mortality rate. Deeny and his colleagues prepared a plan which led to the Tuberculosis (Establishment of Sanatoria) Act 1945. This allowed the department to acquire land compulsorily for the building of sanatoria. A White Paper
294:. He and Deeny did not see eye to eye on aspects of policy and in 1950, Deeny temporarily left the department to carry out a national survey of tuberculosis in Ireland for the Medical Research Council of Ireland. Although he returned to the department in 1953, retiring in 1962, his work in that period was mainly on the international stage.
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Some time after taking up the Dublin position, Deeny became aware of extremely high infant mortality rates in the
Bessborough mother and baby home run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart order in Cork. Initial inspection did not show the cause, but on a hunch, Deeny stripped the babies and found that
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In 1962, he was appointed chief of senior staff training at WHO headquarters in Geneva. Coming from a small neutral country he played a vital role in persuading the Soviet Union to allow the WHO to recruit doctors directly as the
Soviets had been insisting on choosing for themselves.
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but it was felt that health required a separate department. Deeny chaired the
Committee on the Health Services which led to the establishment of the new department in early 1947. He was heavily involved in the preparation of the Health Act of 1947 which included the
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He conducted a study of the spread of tuberculosis in Lurgan and showed that the main factor in the spread of the disease was the residence of adolescents in near proximity to a case who had died. This demonstrated how important it was to isolate infectious cases.
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He took formal retirement in 1967, but continued to do consultancy work for the organization. This included writing the Fourth Report on the World Health
Situation in 1968 and serving as the WHO's first Ombudsman.
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There was a strong discrimination against
Catholics in the Northern Ireland of the time and Deeny judged that his career would advance better in the Republic of Ireland.
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where he ran a 160-acre farm. He founded the Tagoat
Community Council and for his community efforts he was named Irish Life Pensioner of the year in 1988.
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357:, the Pontifical Council for Human and Christian Development. This was established to coordinate the work of over 1,000 Catholic charities worldwide.
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He carried out national tuberculosis surveys on Sri Lanka and
Somaliland. Between 1958 and 1960, he produced a national health plan for Indonesia.
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He first came to prominence in the 1930s after publishing a study on the nutritional deficiencies of male factory workers in Lurgan in the
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Treating two Lurgan "blue men", he discovered the use of ascorbic acid in the treatment of familial idiopathic
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In 1941, Deeny was elected a fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians and in the same year a member of the
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in his memory was erected at his former residence and place of medical practice in Lurgan Town Square.
222:, specializing in the technology of tuberculosis. In 1931, he joined his father's practice in Lurgan.
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as chief of the Irish delegation. In 1956, he was seconded from the
Department of Health to the WHO.
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In 1983, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Queen's University, Belfast.
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and diagnosed it among his patients. It had not been reported in Ireland before.
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where he worked in The State Service Institute under the auspices of the
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The Irish worker: a demographic study of the labour force in Ireland
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The End of an Epidemic: Essays in Irish Public Health 1935-1965
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was published in 1946. A battle against tuberculosis began.
234:. He also conducted an infant mortality survey of Belfast.
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In 1988, he was awarded Irish Life Pensioner of the Year.
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Extraordinary doctor stood up to clergy and closed home,
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To Cure and to Care: Memoirs of a Chief Medical Officer
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and while there, conducted a survey of the community.
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In May 1948, Deeny attended the first assembly of the
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199:, the son of a Catholic doctor. He was educated at
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207:at the age of 21. He continued his studies at the
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276:Department of Local Government and Public Health
726:Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
338:He returned to private practice for a time in
716:Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
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486:Obituary, London Independent 20 April 1994.
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349:In 1971, he became Scientific Adviser to
171:(7 November 1906 – 3 April 1994) was the
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274:Deeny's original appointment was to the
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232:Journal of the Ulster Medical Society
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841:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
600:Castlepollard Mother & Baby Home
851:Members of the Royal Irish Academy
585:Bessborough Mother & Baby Home
179:and a senior administrator in the
16:Irish former chief medical adviser
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615:St Patrick's Mother and Baby Home
265:Chief Medical Adviser for Ireland
820:Mother and baby homes in Ireland
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595:Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home
572:Mother and baby homes in Ireland
45:Chief Medical Adviser of Ireland
452:Dictionary of Ulster Biography
203:and graduated as a doctor from
721:Sisters of Our Lady of Charity
605:Magdalene Laundries in Ireland
534:Ulster History Circle website.
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263:In 1944, Deeny was appointed
220:American Medical Association
420:, The Glendale Press, 1989.
209:Royal College of Physicians
205:Queen's University, Belfast
169:James Andrew Donnelly Deeny
157:Queen's University, Belfast
95:James Andrew Donnelly Deeny
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620:Ulster Female Penitentiary
226:Career in Northern Ireland
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375:, was published in 1989.
313:World Health Organization
307:World Health Organization
181:World Health Organization
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281:Mother and Child Scheme
248:He became an expert on
360:He finally retired to
298:The Bessborough affair
799:Sex in a Cold Climate
775:The Magdalene Sisters
759:The Forgotten Maggies
353:and helped to set up
173:Chief Medical Adviser
645:Laura Angela Collins
214:In 1930, he went to
711:Bon Secours Sisters
650:Mary Teresa Collins
471:Custom House People
385:Royal Irish Academy
373:To Cure and to Care
371:His autobiography,
292:Minister for Health
177:Republic of Ireland
379:Awards and honours
191:Deeny was born in
114:, Northern Ireland
77:Dr Charlie Lysaght
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655:Catherine Corless
521:Irish Independent
243:methemoglobinemia
201:Clongowes College
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145:Clongowes College
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735:Law and politics
704:Religious orders
685:Roderic O'Gorman
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469:Robins, Joseph,
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259:Career in Dublin
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86:Personal details
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423:Deeny, James,
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409:Deeny, James,
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366:County Wexford
344:County Donegal
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126:(aged 87)
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660:Mary E. Daly
590:Bethany Home
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351:Pope Paul VI
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269:Tuberculosis
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124:(1994-04-03)
122:3 April 1994
73:Succeeded by
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18:
856:1906 births
846:1994 deaths
675:Tom McClean
665:James Deeny
398:Blue Plaque
290:became the
288:Noel Browne
211:in Dublin.
131:Nationality
63:Preceded by
25:James Deeny
835:Categories
818:Category:
432:References
396:In 2012 a
334:Later life
187:Background
152:Alma mater
101:1906-11-07
67:New office
783:Philomena
507:The Times
505:Obituary
315:(WHO) in
286:In 1948,
141:Education
57:1944–1962
53:In office
751:In media
355:Cor Unum
250:pellagra
175:of the
793:(film)
785:(film)
777:(film)
769:(book)
638:People
362:Tagoat
317:Geneva
216:Vienna
193:Lurgan
108:Lurgan
578:Homes
340:Fanad
135:Irish
119:Died
91:Born
837::
492:^
478:^
458:^
440:^
387:.
364:,
342:,
283:.
245:.
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183:.
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99:(
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