Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----for decent equality and justice for children who were brought up in care. Dr. Lynn dealt with many of them in her later work.

Growing up in the aftermath of the famine, Kathleen was deeply saddened by the deadly diseases and poverty suffered by the people. She also heard many stories about this from her family before her. She achieved her ambition and graduated as one of the first female doctors in Ireland, which brought its own challenges but they did not deter her for she was determined regardless of gender to achieve her ambition of being a doctor. She had an extremely successful private practice in Rathmines, Dublin. People would have known of her then and many people chose to change doctor and attend her practice.

Kathleen became radicalised and mobilised through the stories and the care that she provided to her parents. She later became part of the emerging revolution who wanted Irish freedom, independence, and for Irish people to have control over their own destiny and governance. Was she not brave, courageous, noble and right?

Kathleen worked in the soup kitchens during the 1913 Lockout. She later became the chief medical officer for James Connolly's Irish Citizen's Army. Of course, we know that during the 1916 Rising, Dr. Lynn treated many of the wounded and casualties. Dr. Margaret MacCurtain, the well known historian who died in October 2020, wrote very extensively about Dr. Kathleen Lynn, and it is interesting to read and look over her works and papers on Dr. Lynn.

Kathleen remained active in the nationalist movement and was elected vice-president of the Sinn Féin executive in 1917. Kathleen was elected as a Deputy for Dublin in 1923, although she did not take up her seat in Dáil Éireann.

In 1919, Kathleen finally opened St. Ultan's Children's Hospital, which she called "her little hospital", on Charlemont Street near Ranelagh. The hospital provided much-needed medical and educational support for enfants and their mothers, which is an important aspect as it touches on the mother and baby institutions and that legacy.

The last great endeavour by Kathleen was to raise funds for the national children's hospital but the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Charles McQuaid, thwarted her plans.

I want to talk about St. Ultan's and it would be remiss of me if I did not mention Kathleen's great colleague and love, Madeleine ffrench-Mullen. Life is strange as I ended up living in a house called Racefield House in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, and the house was owned by the ffrench-Mullen family. In very recent times I visited the Avoca handweavers in Laragh, County Wicklow where I met members of the ffrench-Mullen family, and I knew the significance of that unusual family name and we shared our stories. Madeleine ffrench-Mullen was a very significant woman in her own right and very much to the fore and partnered with Dr. Lynn, which it is important to recognise.

As we know, Dr. Lynn died without seeing her dream of a national children's hospital materialise. It is, therefore, a fitting legacy that we name the hospital after her. The motion tabled is very worthy of support and I will definitely support it. I wish to acknowledge the engagement that I have had with the Independent councillors, Mannix Flynn, Christy Burke and Nial Ring, and others from all parties in Dublin City Council because I know that they very much support this initiative. I thank Fianna Fáil. Finally, I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for keeping the burner turned up under this issue and I believe that the Government will not oppose the motion.