The History of Neurology in Belfast: The first hundred years

www.ums.ac.uk I would like to tell the story of the development of neurology in Belfast. I wish to concentrate on the first century. Why do I say the first century? Having researched the beginnings, I was surprised to discover that the first physician with special training in neurology to practice in Belfast set up his brass plate as long ago as 1888. From 1888 to the late 1980’s comprises the first hundred years of neurology in Belfast. This takes us up to the closure of Claremont Street Hospital, and in-patient beds in Belfast City Hospital, with concentration of acute neurology beds at the Royal Victoria Hospital. I am not going to say much about my contemporaries or myself. I also feel more comfortable describing the talents and accomplishments of my predecessors whose lives have run their full course. There are many precedents for this.