Health
At the beginning of the century, many children and adults died from diseases like Polio, Diptheria and Tuberculosis. Tony Coady even remembers most of the one family being wiped out by typhoid fever. There was no cure for Polio, Diptheria or Tuberculosis and there was no vaccination. There was a vaccination for Smallpox and the law said that all children must be vaccinated.
On the right is a copy of the Vaccination Certificate that Gerry McCarthy received in 1907 for his son, John.
Diphtheria
We also found a short account of a Diptheria outbreak at Aharney House near
Lisdowney. This was written in 1938 by Josie Carroll, a pupil of Lisdowney National
School. It was part of a folklore gathering project and can be seen in Kilkenny
County Library - "In the year 1905 a terrible sickness occurred in Aharney House,
Ballyragget, Co. Kilkenny. The name of this sickness was Diptheria and two of
the Marum family, a boy and girl got it very badly. They both died during the
one week".
Source: - Kilkenny County Library Folklore Collection.
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