Ordinary lives, death, and social class : Dublin City Coroner's Court, 1876-1902 / Ciara Breathnach.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Breathnach, Ciara, author.

Series:

Oxford Academic

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Criminal justice, Administration of--Ireland.

Criminal justice, Administration of.

Death--Causes.

Death.

Courts--Ireland.

Courts.

Forensic pathology.

Cause of Death.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (289 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford Oxford University Press, [2022]

Summary:

This book focuses on the evolution of the Dublin City coroner's court and on Dr Louis A. Bryne's first two years in office. Wrapping itself around the 1901 census, it uses gender, power, and blame as analytical frameworks to examine what inquests can tell us about the impact of urban living from lifecycle and class perspectives. Coroners' inquests are a combination of eyewitness testimony, expert medico-legal language, detailed minutiae of people, places, and occupational identities pinned to a moment in time. Thus they have a simultaneous capacity to reveal histories from both above and below. Rich in geographical, socio-economic, cultural, class, and medical detail these records collated in a liminal setting about the hour of death bear incredible witness to what has often been termed 'ordinary lives'. The subjects of Dr Byrne's court were among the poorest in Ireland and, apart from common medical cause problems linked to lower socio-economic groups, this book covers preventable cases of workplace accidents, neglect, domestic abuse, and homicide.

Contents:

List of Figures, Maps, and Tables

Introduction

1. Dublin, the City Coroner's Court, and the Everyday

2. Sudden and Accidental Deaths in Domestic Settings

3. Deaths Outside: Public and Workplace Settings

4. Unnatural, Suspicious, and Violent Death

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description based on Publisher website; title from home page (viewed on May 19, 2022)

ISBN:

0-19-263528-X

0-19-189811-2

0-19-263527-1

OCLC:

1323254064

Publisher Number:

10.1093/oso/9780198865780.001.0001 DOI