Analysis: the use of James Conway's body for medical research in 1889 says much about the unethical historical acquisition of human remains
By Shelby Zimmerman, TCD
The display of human remains in museums has become an increasingly controversial topic. As a result of more awareness into colonial legacies, these debates centre on the unethical acquisition of human remains for display.
In the last two years, there has been greater collaboration between museums and communities regarding the repatriation of ancestral remains. In May 2022, the National Museums Northern Ireland held a ceremony to return a looted skull and sacred objects to representatives from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs that were on display at the Ulster Museum. Last year, Trinity College Dublin returned 13 skulls that were stolen as research specimens from Inishbofin, Co. Galway by anthropologist Alfred Cort Haddon and his student Andrew Francis Dixon in 1890.
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From RTÉ News, Trinity College Dublin to work with islanders over the return of 13 ancient skulls which were stolen from the island 130 years ago
So far, these discussions have prioritised remains displayed outside of their communities, but what about the fate of the poor within these communities? In the mid 18th and early 19th centuries, the expansion of medical schools in Britain and Ireland resulted in an increased demand of bodies for anatomical examination. Anatomists and medical students raided burial grounds for recent burials or hired 'resurrectionists' to steal bodies for the medical schools.
In response to concerns surrounding graverobbing and the medical schools’ increased demands for cadavers, the Anatomy Act of 1832 was introduced. It authorised public institutions, such as workhouses and hospitals, to sell the bodies of deceased inmates and patients to medical schools if they were not claimed by relatives within 48 hours following death. The legislation mandated the medical schools to ensure the deceased received a decent Christian funeral in a consecrated cemetery. Bodies sent for dissection in Dublin were interred in Glasnevin Cemetery's Poor Ground.
Despite having a regulated protocol for medical schools’ procurement of cadavers, anatomists could not request bodies of individuals who died from a certain disease. Therefore, anatomists were in contact with public institutions regarding relevant research material. In the 1880s, Dr Daniel John Cunningham, Professor of Anatomy at Trinity College, was researching the surface anatomy of the brain at various ages through observation and dissection. His research coincided with broader research into phrenology and racial science in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Trinity College’s Anatomy Museum collection contains over 480 human remains with colonial origins from around the world.
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From RTÉ Brainstorm, how Victorian anthropologist Alfred Haddon used skull measuring to investigate the racial origins of communities in the west of Ireland
On July 27th 1886, 104 year old James Conway, was admitted to the North Dublin Union workhouse for medical relief. According to the admission and discharge register held by the National Archives of Ireland, Conway was widowed and lived on Church Street. His death certificate mentioned that he was previously employed as a labourer and he had served as a 17 year old under Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar.
By the end of the 19th century, the workhouse had evolved from its association with the Famine into an institution functioning as a general hospital. The post-Famine workhouse was the largest and most accessible medical institution for Dublin’s sick poor, with medical wards staffed by qualified physicians and nurses with various degrees of training.
On 16 April 1889, Conway died at the age of 106. Dr Robert Kenny, medical officer of the North Dublin Union, was familiar with Cunningham’s research and wrote to him regarding the death of a centenarian who did not experience cognitive decline. In an unpublished letter held in Trinity's Old Anatomy Museum, Kenny noted that Conway was ‘in perfect possession of all his faculties to the very last with the exception of being a little hard of hearing, and his death was by no means due to senile decay.’
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From RTÉ Radio 1's History Show, historical researcher Fiona Fitzsimons on the social history to be found in records from the workhouse system
Since Conway was widowed and his son predeceased him, Kenny knew that he would not be claimed for burial and offered Conway’s remains to Cunningham outside of the Anatomy Act. As a result, Trinity College was not mandated to bury Conway following dissection. Conway’s skeleton and a plaster model of his brain continue to remain on display in Trinity’s Old Anatomy Museum.
The Trinity Legacies Review Working Group are investigating what should be done with the human remains in the university’s collection. The ethics and demand for returning human remains from museum collections appears more straightforward in cases involving repatriation.
We must think about the legacy of displaying the remains of the poor and what it reveals about societal attitudes
But what should happen with Conway’s remains? If the North Dublin Union sent his body for dissection through the proper channels of the Anatomy Act of 1832, then Trinity College’s medical school would have been legally mandated to arrange a decent burial. However, Conway was denied a burial because Kenny directly sent his body directly to Cunningham.
Although the Conway case is not an example of stolen or colonial remains, we must think about the legacy of displaying the remains of the poor and what it reveals about societal attitudes. The fact that Cunningham displayed foreign and stolen remains alongside Conway’s skeleton in the Anatomy Museum demonstrated his same indifference to the remains of a poor Dubliner.
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Dr Shelby Zimmerman is the programme coordinator for the Medical and Health Humanities Initiative at TCD. She is a former Early Career Researcher in the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
