Epidemic Belfast

Ulster University

Epidemic Belfast raises difficult and challenging questions about Northern Ireland's medical history, from the 19th century to COVID. In each episode, experts examine themes including the health of Belfast's mill workers, asylums, Victorian anti-vaxxers, 'cures' and shock therapies for homosexuality, the thalidomide tragedy, lobotomies, prison doctors during the Troubles and the AIDS crisis. read less

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Preparing for Gas Attacks in Second World War Belfast

Preparing for Gas Attacks in Second World War Belfast

An Interview with Dr James O’Neill, Curator at Northern Ireland War Memorial

Episodes

Preparing for Gas Attacks in Second World War Belfast

Preparing for Gas Attacks in Second World War Belfast

An Interview with Dr James O’Neill, Curator at Northern Ireland War Memorial

Health, Medical Care and the Victorian Workhouse

Health, Medical Care and the Victorian Workhouse

Robyn Atcheson, who lectures at Queen’s University Belfast, discusses health and medical conditions in Belfast’s workhouse system.

Nursing, Emotional Labour and the Troubles

Nursing, Emotional Labour and the Troubles

Megan Kelly, Associate Lecturer at Open University discusses the emotional labour of nursing during the Troubles.

Health and the Postal Service

Health and the Postal Service

Laura Newman (KCL) discusses using post office data to understand health in Northern Irish history and William Orr, a Ballymoney postman who managed to deliver his post despite his blindness.

Midwifery and Childbirth in Twentieth-Century Belfast

Midwifery and Childbirth in Twentieth-Century Belfast

Caitlin Smith, PhD researcher at Ulster University, talks about historical experiences of midwifery and childbirth in 20th-Century Belfast.

Experiencing Diabetes in 20th-Century Northern Ireland

Experiencing Diabetes in 20th-Century Northern Ireland

Lauren Young, PhD researcher at QUB, and former UU History Master’s student, explores patient experiences of diabetes in 20th-century Northern Ireland.

‘Curing’ Homosexuality in Late 20th Century Belfast

‘Curing’ Homosexuality in Late 20th Century Belfast

Richard O’Leary, Visiting Scholar at Queens University Belfast and Rebecca Watterson (PhD candidate, Ulster University) talks to Ian Miller (Ulster University) about attempts to ‘cure’ homosexuality in Belfast and Northern Ireland in the late 20th Century. (With voiceover provided by Ross Lindsay).

Living with HIV in Belfast

Living with HIV in Belfast

Rebecca Brown, MA student at Ulster University and Eugenie Scott, PhD candidate at Ulster University discuss the AIDS crisis and interview Greg Owen about his experience as a gay man living with HIV in Belfast.

Prison Doctors and the Troubles

Prison Doctors and the Troubles

Eugenie Scott, PhD researcher at Ulster University, interviews Séanna Walsh, a former Republican prisoner, who discusses his negative experience of prison medical services during the Troubles.

Injury, Hospital staff and the Troubles

Injury, Hospital staff and the Troubles

Dr Ruth Coon (Researcher QUB) and Patrick Garland, a former staff member at the Royal Victoria Hospital, discuss how working life and wellbeing of healthcare workers were affected by the Northern Ireland Troubles.

The Troubles, Psychological Trauma and Feminism

The Troubles, Psychological Trauma and Feminism

Dr Ian Miller, Lecturer at Ulster University, talks about how psychological trauma caused by the Troubles became a campaigning issue for feminist activism and asks whether psychologists at the time responded effectively to the problem.

The Thalidomide Tragedy in Belfast

The Thalidomide Tragedy in Belfast

Michael Kinsella, PhD researcher at Ulster University, and Hannah Brown, MA student at Ulster University discuss the thalidomide tragedy of the late 1950s and early 1960s and interviews survivor Jacqueline Fleming.

Polio in Belfast

Polio in Belfast

Hannah Brown, MA student at Ulster University, interviews polio survivors Jim Bailey and Eddie McCrory from the Northern Ireland Polio Fellowship, about their experience living with disability caused by the polio epidemic of the 1950s.

Lobotomies in 20th-Century Belfast Asylums

Lobotomies in 20th-Century Belfast Asylums

Rebecca Watterson, PhD candidate at Ulster University, discusses psychosurgery in Northern Ireland in the 20th century, and its harmful impacts on mental health patients.

The Therapeutic Revolution, 1910s to 1960s

The Therapeutic Revolution, 1910s to 1960s

Dr Ian Miller, Lecturer at Ulster University, talks about the therapeutic revolution in medicine between the 1910s and 1960s.

The Spanish Flu in Ireland, 1918-19

The Spanish Flu in Ireland, 1918-19

Dr Ida Milne, Lecturer at Carlow College, and Dr Patricia Walsh, Curator at the Public Record Office for Northern Ireland, hold a round table discussion on the 1918-19 Spanish Influenza epidemic and its effect in Ireland in the early 20th century.

The Care of Shell-shocked Veterans after the First World War

The Care of Shell-shocked Veterans after the First World War

Dr Michael Robinson, Leverhulme Trust Funded Early Career Researcher at the University of Liverpool, discusses his research into the health, treatment and care of shell-shocked Irish veterans returning from the First World War.

Schools and Health in Edwardian Belfast, and Campbell College as a WW2 Military Hospital

Schools and Health in Edwardian Belfast, and Campbell College as a WW2 Military Hospital

Dr Tom Thorpe (independent scholar), talks about the role health and health protection played in Belfast schools during the Edwardian period and how Campbell College Belfast was used as a military hospital during the Second World War.

Belfast, c.1900. ‘The Unhealthiest City in the Kingdom’?

Belfast, c.1900. ‘The Unhealthiest City in the Kingdom’?

Dr Ian Miller, Lecturer at Ulster University, discusses why Belfast was considered the unhealthiest city in Britain and Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the inefficacy of Belfast Corporation in safeguarding the city’s health.

The Templemore Public Baths in East Belfast

The Templemore Public Baths in East Belfast

Dr Rhianne Morgan, Queens University Belfast, discusses health, leisure and the Templemore Public Baths in East Belfast.