A Brief History of Ireland by The World Factbook 2007

Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the UK. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Read More

The History of the Faculty of Medicine & Health :

Medical teaching began in Cork in the 18th century, variously dated between 1722 and 1775. Organised teaching of Anatomy, Physiology, Medicine and Surgery, is recorded since 1828 when a Medical School was founded by Henry Augustus Caesar MD, at The United Voluntary Hospitals. Medicine was one of the three founding faculties along with Arts and Law when University College, Cork opened its doors to students in 1849 as Queen's College Cork. The first President, Sir Robert Kane, FRS was a distinguished physician and pharmacist. From an initial intake of about 50 students per annum, the Medical School has expanded to classes of 120 undergraduate students, from Ireland and overseas, in 2003.

A School of Dentistry was established in 1913 adjoining the North Infirmary Hospital. In 1982, it was relocated to the site of the new Regional Hospital at Wilton where modern facilities support the delivery of the BDS programme. This 5-year programme has a high reputation for clinical teaching and graduates approximately 40 students each year. A major new development in Orthodontics commenced in 2003 which further enhances clinical care and develops the research capacity and academic excellence of the Dental School.

In 2002, 200 students were admitted to a new BSc Nursing programme, following the transfer of Nursing Education from Cork University Hospital, Mercy University Hospital, South Infirmary Victoria Hospital and the Bon Secours Hospitals to University College Cork. This programme is one of the largest in Ireland, with a wide range of post-graduate specialist degrees and diplomas.

2003 also saw the admission of the first students to new degree programmes, in Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, and Pharmacy.

The History of The School of Medicine :

UCC opened its doors in 1849, under the powers of “an Act to enable Her Majesty to endow new colleges for the advancement of Learning in Ireland.” So began over a century and a half of teaching and research on behalf of the local community and the nation. The Faculty of Medicine in UCC was opened to approximately twenty students in 1849. Its purpose was “to afford the means of the most advanced and superior education to the inhabitants of this southern province.” The degree obtainable from the Faculty of Medicine was that of M.D. We, therefore, have a long and proud history of Medical Education. College policy has always been to make UCC “part of the city and of the province, and to forge strong links with the industry and agriculture of the province.” This can be seen in the number of doctors that have been educated and trained for the local region. We are also a modern Medical School striving, as we do, to keep pace with all the developments in the education of health care professionals.

Medical School Mission Statement :

To co-ordinate the resources (physical, financial and human) necessary to deliver the educational programmes leading to the professional qualification, the MB BCh BAO degree and other degree programmes, and to promote related postgraduate study and research.

The Goals of UCC Medical School are:

• To deliver, in association with its constituent departments and in conjunction with related Faculties, and in accordance with all rules and regulations of the University and requirements of the Medical Council, all undergraduate and postgraduate courses of the School.
• To provide appropriate support to students, staff and faculty alike.
• To foster a culture of critical thinking and research throughout the Medical School.
• To coordinate and support the administrative activities of the departments of the School
• To liaise with the University and relevant External Bodies, including the Medical Council, on all matters that pertain to the School, its courses, degrees, students and graduates.
• To Improve the teaching environment in all hospitals in the region.
• To employ teaching methods that are student-centered, for example, small groups, teamwork, interactive, electronic teaching & learning, integrated education & training, interdisciplinary training, room for electives, special study modules & individual development initiatives, formative and summative assessment methods.
• To support the development of the curriculum within the Medical School.
• To promote the recruitment of the very best students, from Ireland, the EU and elsewhere, to the Medical School.
• To establish School policies and procedures in accordance with those of the University.
• To administer the School budget and to allocate appropriate budgets to the Departments of the School.
• To administer the allocation of pre-registration house officer placements in associated hospitals, to oversee the educational component of the intern year and to ensure compliance with requirements for the granting of permanent registration.
• To promote Health and Safety for its staff, in accordance with University policies and procedures.

Ireland has recently undergone rapid transformation into an advanced first world economy. While the very speed of this transformation presents great economic, cultural and educational challenges, the universities in Ireland occupy a lead position in the transformation to a sophisticated knowledge based society. They are the principal drivers of research and, in the past 15 years, they have responded to the changing educational needs of the country with an ever-increasing range of programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level. At the same time, Ireland is a small country with a population of less than six million on the island as a whole. Cities, apart from Dublin, are small and compact. Social contact is informal and administrative “red tape” is not excessive. Over 45% of the population of the Republic of Ireland is under 30 years of age so it is country for young people. As a member of the European Union, it is outward looking and anxious to build relationships with other countries, both inside and outside the EU. Ireland is at the forefront of international technological innovation: over 1100 overseas companies have chosen Ireland as their European base and are involved in a wide range of activities in sectors as diverse as e business, engineering, information communications technologies, financial and international services, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals. Ireland is the number one location in Europe for the pharmaceutical industry in particular, with 83 companies located here, producing €34 billion worth of exports in 2002. Biotechnology and biomedical R & D is another growth area with large multi nationals (e.g. Boston Scientific etc.,) and many new start up companies establishing themselves in the region. With GDP per capita currently greater than any other European economy, the USA or Japan, Ireland is in the top three competitive economies in the world. The Irish government is supporting research and development in these sectors through Science Foundation Ireland, providing large grants for research and infrastructural development in the universities.

As Ireland’s second biggest city (200,000), Cork is a major centre for science and technology innovation, with more than 18,000 people working in pharmaceuticals and chemicals, medical technologies and ICT industries. Situated in the southwest of Ireland, which is renowned for the beauty of its magnificent Atlantic coastline, Cork is a vibrant city, reflecting many diverse traditions in its cosmopolitan heritage. It is one of the premier festival cities in Ireland and provides a wide range of activities, leisure pursuits and entertainment.

With its founding charter signed in December 1845, UCC is one of Ireland’s oldest institutes of learning, with a strong tradition in medical education and innovation. One of its early graduates, Charles Donovan, is associated with William Leishman in the discovery of the cause of Kala-azar, the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani. Today UCC is a progressive, dynamic university of over 14,500 students and provides a high quality educational environment for both staff and students. Its new student centre provides an attractive café, bank, travel agent, bookshop, stationary shop and mini-market, recreation facilities, first aid room and on-line computers all under one roof. UCC is the highest research income earner in the state. Its ratio of funding per head of academic staff is among the highest in Europe. This outstanding research record, together with good student facilities and some of the top academic results in the country, have won University College Cork the Irish University Award of the Year in 2003.

The Faculty of Medicine and Health has trebled its size over the past 7 years to over 2,000 undergraduate students. To accommodate this growth, the Faculty has embarked on an ambitious €120 million building programme that includes a complex for Medicine, Nursing and the Clinical Therapies at Brookfield on the western end of the campus, a pharmacy building nearby and additional capital building projects on the UCC campus and on its associated clinical sites. Cork University Hospital, situated hardly a 15-minute walk from Brookfield, will expand greatly by 2005 with the opening of a new maternity hospital. New accident and emergency and day procedure facilities will be completed in 2004. The Faculty also provides clinical teaching at the Mercy University Hospital and the South Infirmary/Victoria Hospital, both with long and distinguished records in the provision of medical services for the city of Cork as well as clinical sites in Limerick and in other urban centres in the South and South West. In 2003, the Faculty opened a new School of Pharmacy and a new School of Clinical Therapies (Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy). It enjoys an excellent relationship with the regional health services and is engaged in a number of co-operative developmental projects such as a regional e-library and a co-operative policy on developing and supporting clinical placements for its students.

Students at UCC will attend one or more of the UCC Teaching Hospitals for clinical training. The main academic medical centre is based at the Cork University Hospital but there are also academic medical centres at the Mercy Hospital and the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital both in Cork city. In addition to Cork city hospitals, students may also be placed for clinical attachments to teaching hospitals in Limerick (Mid-Western Regional Hospital), Mallow (Mallow Hospital) and Tralee (Tralee General Hospital). For Obstetrics and Gynaecology teaching students will attend either the Erinville Hospital or St. Finbarr's Hospital both in Cork city. Psychiatry teaching takes place mainly in Cork University Hospital.