1. Emily MacManus (1886-1978): a Guy’s Hospital Matron from Mayo
John Adams
Anglia Ruskin University, UK

3. Family background Family were originally farmers in West Meath
Prospered in sugar trade in British Guiana
Grandparents returned to Ireland: given Killeaden estate, near Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo

4. Family background
Father studied medicine at Dr Stevens’ Hospital: practised in London
Her two aunts trained as nurses: Emma turned Killeaden into a home for people with neurasthenia, Lottie wrote Irish historical romances and became a founder member of the Gaelic League

5. Nursing career 1908: Probationer at Guy’s Hospital, London
1912: Trained as midwife in the East End Mother’s Home, Whitechapel. Theatre Sister in King’s Lynn
1914: Returned to Guy’s to teach in P.T.S.

6. The Great War
1915: Went to France as a Sister in the Civil Nursing Reserve
1918: Sister at No 46 Casualty Clearing Station at Noyons, with the Fifth Army under General Gough
Twice ‘mentioned in despatches’; awarded R.R.C.

8. Troubled times
Under the influence of the Gaelic League, younger generation of family changed their name from ‘McManus’ to ‘MacManus’
Her brother Dermot was severely wounded serving in France in WW1; studied astronomy at TCD
Left TCD to join the IRA; in charge of gun-running to the coast of Co Kerry

9. Troubled times
Dermot married daughter of Sir William and Lady Thompson of Dublin, in 1920
Family stayed in Upper Mount Street for the wedding: ‘machine-gun fire rattled the Dublin windows during the night’
Dermot lived at Woodville, Co Longford

10. Post-War Career
1919: Assistant to Miss Rundle, first nurse-secretary of the College of Nursing
Returns to Guy’s as Assistant Matron; Matron of Bristol Royal Infirmary
1927: Appointed Matron of Guy’s

11. Hospital administration for women 1934
‘[The Matron] shall have charge of: The Matron’s Office, The Nursing Department, The Hospital Cleaning Department, The Laundry, The Linen Stores, The Dressmakers’ Department, The Hospital Stores, The Catering Staff, The Private Staff, Non-Medical Schools for Women (Massage, Midwifery etc), and Voluntary Workers’ p. 5

12. Administrative work
Royal College of Nursing, National Council of Nurses of Great Britain, General Nursing Council
Principal Matron of the Territorial Army Nursing Service
1930 : Awarded Order of the British Empire (C.B.E )
1942: Elected President of the Royal College of Nursing

14. Guy’s Hospital at War
1939: Appointed Matron of Sector X, Emergency Medical Service. Co- author of Nursing in time of war
Guy’s Hospital linked with three large municipal hospitals in Kent
1940: London Blitz; Guy’s Hospital severely damaged

16. Rosalie Dreyer, 1940
‘[LCC Nurses should not] be called upon to obey any senior officer who is not of British blood’ Mrs Bedford Fenwick ‘I could have wished that you – who know me so well – would have written to me to ask me the true facts concerning the race and breeding of a woman who trained in this great Nursing School …’ Miss MacManus

17. On the Horder Report, 1942
‘Whilst the profession did not want the dunce with clever hands, American methods led her to consider nursing more an exploration into medicine.’
Rafferty (1996) p. 171

18. National Health Service, 1948
‘I am a representative of the old-time voluntary hospital tradition, to me, without doubt this complete change … was inevitable, and its advantages of financial security to the hospitals and health benefits to the nation outweigh the very real drawbacks’ p. 204

19. Retirement 1946: Retired as Matron of Guy’s Hospital
In retirement, advisor to Caribbean governments on nursing issues
Moved to Ballina, Co Mayo; died 1978

21. Sources
E MacManus (1934) Hospital administration for women London: Faber & Faber E MacManus (1956) Matron of Guy’s London: Andrew Melrose AM Rafferty (1996) The politics of nursing knowledge London: Routledge The British Journal of Nursing