Reference Code: IE 2135 P26

Title: The Cratloe and Meelick Dispensary Collection

Dates of Creation: 1835-1850

Level of Description: Fonds

Extent and Medium: 2 items

 

CONTEXT

Name of Creator(s): Cratloe and Meelick Dispensary.

Administrative/ Biographical History: The Cratloe and Meelick Dispensary was formed on 6 January 1835 to provide healthcare for the underprivileged in East Clare within the Limerick poor-law union.  The Dispensary’s work was supported partly through private subscriptions and partly through public funding.  Surgeon Thomas Kane of Cecil Street, Limerick acted as the medical attendant.  Initially, treatment was provided free of charge to patients in receipt of vouchers distributed by subscribers.  However, the voucher system was vulnerable to abuse and from 1840 onwards a small fee was charged from all except the most destitute.  The Dispensary remained active throughout the famine years but by 1850 struggled to find funding.  Its subsequent fate is unknown.

Archival History: Acquired by De Búrca Rare Books in 2010.  Earlier provenance unknown.

Immediate Source of Acquisition: Donated to the University of Limerick jointly by the Department of History and the Medical School on 11 February 2010.

 

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

Scope and Content: This small collection provides valuable information about the founding of the establishment and its subscribing members, ethos, funding and finances primarily between 1835 and 1848.  It also contains statistical information about the parish and the volume of patients treated, and provides insights into which leading local families contributed or did not contribute to the funding of the Dispensary.  It should be noted that the documents are purely of administrative nature and contain no names of individual patients or the nature of ailments and illnesses treated at the Dispensary.

Appraisal, Destruction and Scheduling Information: All records have been retained.

Accruals: No accruals are expected.

 

CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE

Conditions Governing Access: Unrestricted access to all items.

Conditions Governing Reproduction: Standard copyright regulations apply to all items.  For photocopying or reproducing material, please consult with the staff.

Language/ Scripts of Material: English.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements: Paper documents in reasonable condition.

Finding Aids: A hard copy of the descriptive catalogue is available at the Special Collections and Archives Department, Glucksman Library, University of Limerick.

 

DESCRIPTION CONTROL

Archivist’s Note: Papers arranged and described by Anna-Maria Hajba.

Rules or Conventions: This description follows guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd edition, 2000, Irish Guidelines for Archival Description, 2009, National Council on Archives: Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997, and EAP Guidance on Data Protection for Archive Services, 2018.

Date of Description: September 2022.