Maynooth PhD student in national debate over evidence, ethics and the skeleton of Cornelius Magrath

Cornelius McGrathy
Friday, March 3, 2017 - 11:30

Over the past few weeks, a national debate flared on the radio about ethics and the remains of “the Irish giant” Cornelius Magrath. The School of Anatomy in Dublin University, Trinity College (TCD) is home to Magrath’s skeleton. It is the most famous item in a historic collection of anatomy specimens, records, and instruments held in the ‘Old’ Anatomy Building. The building was decommissioned in 2014. Maynooth University Department of Anthropology doctoral student Ciarán Walsh is helping resolve the collection as part of post-grad research programme managed jointly by the School of Medicine TCD, Maynooth University, Kimmage Development Studies Centre, and funded by the Irish Research Council. Recently, a controversy kicked off on the History Show on RTE Radio 1. It was picked up by chat show host Joe Duffy on Monday. Duffy argued that TCD should bury the skeleton of Cornelius Magrath because it was taken in a ‘body snatching’ raid on Magrath’s wake. Since then a debate of sorts has been taking place on the show. To read Ciarán Walsh’s intervention in this debate follow the link here:

http://www.curator.ie/the-skeleton-of-the-irish-giant-cornelius-magrath/