| History | The British Medical Association was founded in 1832, with the aim of promoting medical sciences and protecting the interests of the medical profession. From 1835 branches were established in regions of the United Kingdom, with the Dublin Branch being established in 1877 'to further the fundamental objects of the Association, and the interest of the Irish members of the professions in particular'.
The Dublin Branch did not see itself as in competition with the Irish Medical Association but allied to it. The branch meet in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and expressed their view of the issues facing the medical profession to the main Association.
The records of the Dublin Branch held by the archive stop in 1902, this is about the time that there was a major reorganisation of the BMA structure, which may be part of the reason. In 1936 the Irish Medical Association became affiliated with the BMA, and changed there name to the Irish Free State Medical Union. At this point the Dublin Branch of the BMA merged into the new union.
In 1933 the BMA undertook a visit to Dublin, the first since 1887, the event was organised by a committee of medics under the chairmanship of T G Moorhead. A joint BMA and Irish Medical Association exhibition was also held in Dublin in 1952. |