Profession paediatrician | Name Ella Webb | |
Born 16 October 1877 ( 1877-10-16 ) Dublin Died September 24, 1946(1946-09-24) (aged 68) Known for founded Children's Sunshine Home for convalescents | ||
Dr Isabella "Ella" Gertrude Amy Webb MBE was a pioneering Irish paediatrician and founder of the Children's Sunshine Home for convalescents, now part of the LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice.
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Family and education
Webb was the elder daughter of the Rev. Charles Thomas Ovenden and his wife Isabella Mary Robinson. She was born in Dublin on the 16 October 1877.
Webb attended Alexandra College, Dublin, later continuing her education in Queen's College, London and subsequently University of Gottingen, then entering the Catholic University of Ireland. Webb was the first woman to attain the highest marks in the final medical examinations of the Royal University of Ireland, and graduating as an MD in 1906. Webb worked in Trinity College until her marriage to George R. Webb, a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, in 1907. They had two children, one son, Irish botanist David and one daughter, Mary Ovenden Webb. She died aged 68 in 1946.
Career
Following her marriage, Webb ran a private practice on Hatch Street. During this time she also working as honorary medical officer to St Patrick's Dispensary for Women and Children, attended two baby clinics, lectured, and acted as an external examiner to the Department of Agriculture & Technical Instruction.
Webb was lady district superintendent in the Alexandra College St John's Ambulance Brigade from 1914, and was on duty during the Easter Rising. During the conflict she set up an emergency hospital at the Brigade’s headquarters at 14 Merrion Square to deal with the wounded. For her bravery during this time she was made a Lady of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1916), and later awarded an MBE (1918).
In 1918, Webb was appointed anaesthetist in Adelaide Hospital, making her the first female member of staff. Webb became focused on the treatment of childhood ailments, particularly those relating to poor diet and hygiene, reporting on the high mortality rate in children under one in Dublin. Webb is acknowledged as one of the first modern social workers in Ireland, then known as almoners.
In 1925 she founded the Children's Sunshine Home for convalescents in Stillorgan, Co. Dublin with help from Overend women. The Home initially specialised in treating children with rickets.
Webb was physician in St Ultan's Infant Hospital, founded by Kathleen Lynn and Madeleine ffrench-Mullen from 1929 to 1946. She was elected fellow of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, and was awarded MA (jure officii).
Legacy
The General Medicine and Cardiology ward in Adelaide Hospital is named in her honour. Webb was also the subject of a portrait by Sean Keating at the Golden Jubilee of the Easter Rising Exhibition in 1966 at the National Gallery of Ireland.