‘A Serious Menace to the Public Health of the City’: Belfast and the Influenza Pandemic

Belfast, situated in the north east coast of Ireland, was a port city and Ireland’s major industrial city. At this time Belfast bore more similarities to those industrial cities in northern Britain than to other parts of Ireland with an economy that was dominated by three industrial concerns: linen and textile manufacture; shipbuilding, and engineering. Influenza was rife in Belfast during the first and second waves and this chapter examines the medical and local authority response to the pandemic. In Belfast the combined forces of the corporation’s public health committee; public health department, and Medical Superintendent Officer of Health for Belfast Dr Hugh. W. Bailie were responsible for the production of an influenza policy for management of the pandemic in the city. This chapter will explore the effectiveness of their response during the pandemic.