A CENTENARY HISTORY.

In this vital account of the Irish Dental Association, published to mark its centenary, Eoin Kinsella and Frances Nolan explore the history of the Association and of its influence on the dental profession. The IDA traces its roots to 1887, when an Irish branch of the British Dental Association was established in Dublin. Influenced by the seismic events of the revolutionary period, in late 1922 the Irish branch seceded – on amicable terms – to establish the Irish Dental Association as an independent advocate for dentists in the Irish Free State. Over the course of the last century the Association has been at the forefront of efforts to improve the ‘art and science’ of dentistry, to promote better oral health and to advocate on behalf of its members. As the leading voice of the profession, the Association has been integral to some of the most important public health campaigns of the twentieth century, such as the inclusion of public dental health provisions under the National Health Insurance Scheme and the fluoridation of the water supply in the 1960s. More recently the Association has led efforts to reform the medical card scheme and to raise public awareness of the importance of dental health. Events of the past two years, which saw the Association at the forefront in guiding the response of dental practitioners to the COVID-19 pandemic, have reinforced its importance as the representative association for Irish dentists.

About the authors 

Dr Eoin Kinsella is Managing Editor of the Royal Irish Academy’s Dictionary of Irish Biography. He is the author of several books, including The Irish Defence Forces, 1922–2022: servant of the nation (2023), Dublin City University, 1980– 2020: designed to be different (2020), Catholic Survival in Protestant Ireland, 1660–1711 (2018), and Leopardstown Park Hospital, 1917–2017: a home for wounded soldiers (2017). 

Dr Frances Nolan is a graduate of UCD, a former Irish Research Council postgraduate scholar (2012–15) and postdoctoral fellow (2018–20), and also held a National Library of Ireland Research Studentship in 2017. Her biography of Frances Jennings, Duchess of Tyrconnell, was published in 2021, and she has worked on public history projects for RTÉ, Lansdowne Football Club, Aosdána, The Farmers’ Journal and Irish Lights. She is currently writing a history of the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee.