'Everybody was terrified': Remembering Cork’s polio epidemic of 1956
This article reflects on the 1956 polio epidemic in Cork, Ireland, detailing the fear and devastation caused by the disease before vaccines were available. It highlights the long-term health consequences for survivors, including post-polio syndrome.
Why it matters
The piece serves as a historical reminder of the impact of infectious diseases and the critical importance of vaccination programs.
There was a blessing of children at Holy Trinity Church in Cork city in August 1956 during the polio epidemic across the city and county that year. It was a time when nobody knew the disease’s cause and the fatality rate in some instances was as high as 27%.
Donal O’Keeffe “Getting polio was like getting leprosy,” says Máire Ní Chorcora.
“That’s what it was like before the vaccine came out, everybody was terrified that their child would get it, it was like leprosy.”
A native of Mallow, she was 16 months old when she contracted poliomyelitis in October 1954, in an isolated case, two years before an epidemic broke out in Cork.
In 1956 there were 499 cases of polio in Ireland, resulting in 20 deaths, and a quarter occurred in Cork.
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