Health Service Workers

The first county hospital in Fermanagh was founded in Darling Street, Enniskillen on the site of what is now the Ulster Bank. By 1814 this building was found to be unsuitable, and plans were made for a new county hospital at Breandrum on the edge Enniskillen town. It was completed by 1821 having been built by private donation. The hospital was not totally publicly funded until 1948 when the National Health Service was established. In 1964 a new £1 million modern hospital replaced the old 1821 building. The new hospital was built on site of the former Workhouse. 

The earliest examples  I could find locally of union organising amongst the nursing grades was in 1922 when R.N.Price the assistant secretary of The Irish Nurses Union (sometimes known as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Union) the who wrote to the Fermanagh Herald complaining of up to 25% cuts in the salaries of nurses and midwives by reduction of the war bonus which had been paid during WW1 to compensate for the rise in the cost of living. The image shows striking health workers from all skills and grades marching through Enniskillen in 1982 in support of their pay claim that year. Other workers in the local council and Ulsterbus also came out in support of the Health Workers. More on the health workers struggles in volume 2 of the history expected in May 2026.