If walls could talk: Limerick surgeon was an early X-ray pioneer

THE Lane Joynt family left an indelible mark on local government, medicine and the arts in Limerick and Dublin.

William Lane Joynt, barrister, politician and government official was born in Limerick city in 1824. He married Jane Russell, the daughter of a local merchant.

They had five sons and a daughter. William’s office was located at 15 Thomas Street and the family home was 86 O'Connell Street. William remains the only person to have been Mayor of Limerick and Lord Mayor of Dublin.

Interested in education and the arts, he was chair of the Limerick Celtic Society. In 1852 he proposed that a local cultural and adult education society be established. The 600-seat Limerick Athenaeum opened on Cecil Street in 1854.

William (pictured in 1927) was the first president, and the venue was used for public lectures, concerts, and operas for the rest of the century.

Thereafter it was used mainly as a cinema, and many people will have fond memories of attending films and gigs at the Royal. William Lane Joynt died on 3 January 1895 at 43 Merrion Square, Dublin. He was buried in St John's Churchyard, Limerick, and is commemorated in stained glass windows in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.

William and Jane’s sixth son, Richard (1867–1928) was a noted orthopaedic surgeon and X-ray pioneer. Part of Richard's childhood was spent in Limerick.

Richard was a cousin of Lady Augusta Gregory of Coole Park, County Galway, and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre. He was also related to the eminent Limerick surgeon Sir Thomas Myles.

Richard was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1891, he undertook the practical phase of his training at Vienna General Hospital. He received his MD in 1893 and his fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 1894, and was elected to the Meath Hospital and the County Dublin Infirmary. He was a senior member of the Council of the RCSI.

By 1897 Richard was experimenting with X-ray, just two years after its invention by Wilhelm Röntgen in Germany. As his experiments took place long before the dangers of radiation were known, his hands bore the physical scars of prolonged exposure to radium and were often heavily bandaged.

In 1900 he was among the first radiologists to be appointed in Ireland when given the post in the Meath Hospital. Dr Thomas Myles described ‘Dr Joynt as the pioneer of X-ray photography in Ireland.’ Richard served as medical officer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (1898–1906).

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In addition to his interest in radiology, Richard carried out vital research into the design of practical apparatus which increased the mobility of severely injured victims of the First World War.

His practical inventions met with much acclaim and led to his appointment as general inspector of orthopaedic factories in Great Britain and Ireland at the conclusion of the war. In April 1920, to mark his services during the conflict, Richard received an OBE from King George V, an award which recognised his pioneering research in the field of X-ray and orthopaedic surgery.

Dr Richard Lane Joynt resided at 84 Harcourt Street, Dublin. He died unmarried at home on 8 April 1928, and was buried in the family plot in St. John's churchyard, Limerick.

Dr Paul O’Brien lectures in Mary Immaculate College