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This is a large set of records which broadly reflects the evolution of local authority health and welfare provision in Offaly. It contains minutes of committees established to oversee public health and public assistance, as well as administrative records detailing the admission and discharge of individuals into the County Home or the County Hospital. While the bulk of the records derived from the County Board of Health, there are a few outlying records from 1912-21 relating to transitional periods in the health service, or where registers were taken over from the preceding health system and incorporated into the new Board of Health. Likewise some county home and county hospital administrative records, particularly admission and discharge registers and financial ledgers which were kept by record-creators in an unbroken series, post-date the County Board of Health's executive function which ceased in 1942.

RECORDS RELATING TO MOTHER AND BABY HOMES AND BOARDED-OUT CHILDREN:
The main series of records which record unmarried mothers and/or decisions relating to the boarding-out of children are to be found in the Public Assistance Minute Books (Series 3) and the Admissions and Discharge registers for the County Home (Series 5).

While Offaly did not have a designated ‘Mother and Baby Home,’ the records show that unmarried mothers were regularly admitted to the County Home to give birth until the late 1940s, many staying for a significant period of time in the home with their children. In some instances, both mother and child were transferred from the home after the birth to other institutions such as Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, or Manor Home, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath.

From the late 1940s, it appears that unmarried mothers were either admitted directly to institutions in other counties (these records are held by other bodies) or transferred from the County Home to mother and baby homes outside Offaly before or after giving birth (these instances, which are infrequent from the late 1940s are recorded in the county home registers in this collection). Children entered in the registers of the county home are recorded as having been born there, or have been transferred into the county home from another institution before being 'placed' or 'boarded-out' in Offaly. It is possible to trace children by surname, noting the limitations of the records in terms of completeness and the date span.

In general terms and from an overview of the records, the incidence of names of unmarried mothers and their children decreases significantly over time. This is most likely due to unmarried mothers from Offaly entering institutions outside the county before the birth of their children. By the 1950s, there are only sporadic instances of births to unmarried mothers and of 'boarded-out' children recorded in the county home registers. This particular record series ends in 1957.

Registers, slightly overlapping between the years 1932 and 1943, of deaths recorded as having taken place in the workhouse (1913-1921), the county home (1922-1947), and the hospitals (1932-1943) under the care of firstly Tullamore Poor Law Union and immediately succeeded by Offaly Board of Health and Public Assistance.

Series of annual reports with many gaps, compiled by the County Medical Officer of Health. The first extant report from 1929 focuses mainly on statistics gathered from inspections of the the national schools in the county. Topics covered include dental health, ophthalmic clinics, tonsil and adenoid operations, enlarged cervical glands, 'mental defectives', tuberculosis, malnutrition, vaccination, skin diseases, defective speech, rheumatism, deformities, open-air education, co-operation of parents, sanitation and environment of schools,

Later annual reports refer to the health and sanitary conditions in the county as a whole while also incorporating the school medical service report. This broadened report contains general statistics of the county, vital statistics, water and sewage reports, housing, lists of midwives, notification of births, notifications of infectious disease, diptheria immunisation, sanitary administration, food and drug samples, venereal disease scheme, school meals free milk scheme, welfare of the blind, district nursing associations, meat and milk inspections, bovine T. B. and the annual report of the clinical tuberculosis officer.

A large and varied series of account books and financial statements, broadly reflecting the financial management of the Board of Health for the period 1922-1965. Includes abstracts of accounts, auditors statements, inventories of stock, travel expenses, and other records of daily cash transactions.

Artificially created sub-series of disassociated volumes relating to medical prescriptions and dietary schedules for patients admitted to the County Hospital.

Volumes recording admissions and discharges to the county hospital. Details recorded include:

Name of patient

Residence

Occupation

Disease

Remarks

Age

Recommended by

Date of admission/discharge

Insurance details.

Volumes often enclose loose correspondence and reports on individual patients' treatment at external hospitals.

Several subseries of registers of admissions and discharges to the county hospital for the period 1932-1948, and also includes medical reports and prescriptions from the period 1919-1950.

Volumes recording details for 'Form 33', Indoor Assistance Lists. Columns and sub-columns record the following data:

Adults: Married Couples (Males/Females); Other Males, Other Females

Children under 15: Of Parents Being Inmates (Legitimate/Illegitimate); Orphans or other children relieved without their parents

Lunatics, Insane Persons and Idiots: Males, Females, Children under 15

No in register

Name of Inmate

Age

Number of days in house each month (for 6 months)

Total (for half-year)

Volumes recording combined data from admissions and discharges to and from the County Home. Details recorded include:

PARTICULARS OF PERSONS IN AND ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL
Register Number (consecutive for year)

Reference register No. of last year

Date when admitted to or born in the Hospital

Name of Person

Residence previous to admission

Age, Sex, Religious Denomination

If adult whether single, married or widow. if child, whether orphan, legitimate or illegitimate

Disease of sickness

General classification: Adults (male/Female), Children under 16

Classification of Cases: Medical, Surgical, Maternity, Mental, Chronic, Infectious, Tuberculosis, Other Persons (only maternity ticked in county home register)

Infectious Disease classification (left blank for county home register)

if born in the hospital, name of mother

Name and address of nearest relative,

Relationship,

Observations

Period in institution: Date of discharge or death, no of days for month, number of days for the year.

PARTICULARS OF PERSONS DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL
Date of discharge or death

Register Number name of Persons Discharged

Adults (men/women), Children under 16

Classification of cases: Medical, Surgical, Maternity, Mental, Chronic, Infectious, Tuberculosis, Other Persons (Only maternity ticked)

Infectious disease classification (left blank for county home register)

Insert 'Died' in case of death in hospital (used to record transfer to hospital, death, other institution, boarded out).

Volumes recording details of residents admitted to the county home, the first of which dating from 1914, predates the establishment of the county home in 1921 and can therefore also be viewed as the last workhouse register for Tullamore Workhouse.

Data collected in this unbroken run of registers (Form 29) varied slightly from volume to volume but generally contained the following:

Admission number (and previous admission number if any)

Date of admission or birth

Name of inmate

Age, Sex

Description (Married, Single, etc.) or 'If adult whether single, married, widow or widower; if child, whether orphan, deserted, illegitimate or legitimate'

Religious denomination

Residence prior to admission

Name and address of nearest relative and description of relationship

Observations on condition of inmates when registered.

Employment or Calling

Number of dependents

Disease or other cause rendering admission necessary

Who gave recommendation for admission

Date of discharge or death