This month the Oireachtas Library is exhibiting an unusual political pamphlet from its collection. The pamphlet contains a passionate argument against the use of quarantine for the control of infectious disease.
The author, Sir J. Clarke Jervoise, was an MP at the time of the pamphlet’s first publication. For him, the concept of germs was a myth, unproven by science. Therefore he saw the threat of people passing on disease through close contact as completely overstated.
To find out more, visit the digital exhibition of the documents in the display case.