It is, perhaps, a fair conclusion to state that Irish medical journals flourished in the first half of the nineteenth century when Irish medicine was itself at the centre of the world stage. There were a number of remarkably able men who were actively involved in medical editing as well as notable medical discoveries. Dublin was then a very large city with well-organised hospitals. The population of the country was at a level never seen before or since. Ireland’s population was then more than half that of England and Wales. Poverty lead to an enormous demand for hospital care with unrivalled opportunities for clinical observation. Post-mortem examinations were frequent and thorough.