Thomas Egan

Who was Thomas Egan?

Thomas Egan was an 18th-century Irish physician. He was born in Dunblaney, parish of Dunmore in the Diocese of Tuam, County Galway. He came from an ancient Catholic family who were brehons, and had a law school at their home, Park Castle, near Tuam. His uncle, Boetius Egan, was archbishop of Tuam. Showing unusual ability at an early age, he was tutored at home and sent to study medicine at Montpellier University from which he graduated with a doctorate in 1775; his thesis was entitled "De arthritide".

He first practised medicine in Galway, where he married Sarah Gibbon, a choice that was not approved by his friends and led to their relocation to Dublin in about 1793. There he made an important contribution to the city's hospitals and to the establishment of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he was a professor. In 1806, he was elected Physician to the Meath Hospital. Dr. Egan was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy 23 July 1791 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London 4 April 1811.