Dr. Bartholomew Mosse 1712-1759

By Patrick F. Meehan
Extracted from "Laois Yearbook" 1983

Bartholomew Mosse was born in Maryborough in 1712 where his father, the former chaplain to King William III was rector.

Mosse studied medicine and travelled all over Europe to further his education in the medical field. On his return to Ireland, he was shocked by the number of infant deaths and of the deaths of mothers in childbirth. As a result he decided to build a lying-in hospital and it opened in George's lane, Dublin in 1745, the first of it's kind in the British Isles.

Encouraged by the success of the hospital, he leased a large plot of ground on the northside of the city and with only £500 he got Mr. Cassel to design the Rotunda hospital. On 24th May, 1751 the foundation stone of the hospital was laid by the Lord Mayor of Dublin.

With subscriptions, grants from parliament, the proceeds of lotteries and concerts, the work continued until 1757, when the hospital opened to receive its first patients. Rich and poor mothers were welcome. The death rates dropped. His charity knew no end. He died in debt at the home of Alderman Peter Barre at Cullenswood, Dublin on the 16th February, 1759.

The whole nation was shocked when the news of his death became known. The Irish parliament voted £9,000 to the hospital and £2,500 to his widow for the maintenance of herself and her children.

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