The Lady with the Lamp exhibition. May 29th - June 1st 2017
A new exhibition has been unveiled in Magee to mark the 150th anniversary of a visit by the world’s most famous nurse, Florence Nightingale.
Known widely throughout her lifetime as a proponent of nursing care reform and an outspoken promoter of the value of women to the healthcare community, Florence was also an accomplished statistician. Her innovative use of graphical data to show the scale of hospital-borne infection in the Crimean war was the principal influence on government reform of primary health care, in particular the design and administration of hospitals.
Florence Nightingale’s signature in Magee College Visitor’s Book is testament to Magee’s position at the heart of 19th Century society. The book is on special loan from PRONI and can be viewed in the Main Entrance Reception area (Block MD) until Thursday 1st June.
Agnes Jones, Nursing Pioneer
Agnes Jones grew up in Fahan, Co Donegal and was one of the first 12 nurses who trained under Florence Nightingale, who became a dear friend and colleague.
Agnes was sent, as Lady Superintendant, to the Brownlow Hill workhouse in Liverpool in 1865. The conditions were abject and disordered but she instituted many changes, including properly trained and salaried nursing staff, and within 3 years, transformed it into a place where the proper medical care of the residents was to the forefront. This became a model for other institutions and workhouses around the country.
Agnes worked tirelessly, sparing no effort on the care of the poorest of society. It was said that overwork weakened her health and left her open to the many infectious diseases rampant at that time. She died at the early age of 35 from typhus fever. Her coffin was carried to her funeral service by the residents of the workhouse for whom she had done so much.
Agnes was brought home to Ireland and buried in the quiet churchyard at St Mura's Church of Ireland, Fahan. However, her service to the poor was not forgotten in Liverpool: a memorial was erected to her in the Oratory of St James Cemetery in Liverpool in 1871 and she appears as one of the 'Noble Women' on one of the stained glass windows in Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.
Her teacher and friend, Florence Nightingale, wrote a a memoriam to Agnes, published as "Una and the Lion" in 1871.
The display can be viewed in Magee Library from 1st July until 30th September 2018.
The Derry March 5th October 1968
The Library at Magee, in cooperation with INCORE, produced an exhibition covering the events of October 1968 when a Civil Rights march in Derry-Londonderry was prevented from taking place. The resulting violence - much of it by the police - was widely viewed and brought the Northern Ireland situation to international prominence.
Below are some images of the exhibition.
