Miss Isabella “Ella” Barbour Pirrie (1857-1929) was a pioneering nurse in Belfast. She was the first nurse at the Belfast Union Workhouse Infirmary and founded its nursing school. Later, she became the first matron of the Deaconess Hospital in Edinburgh.
Her father, Dr John Miller Pirrie, was a notable Belfast physician and president of the Ulster Medical Society. Her cousin was the 1st Viscount Pirrie, Managing Director of Harland and Wolff, and her second cousin was John Miller Andrews, the second Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
Ella trained at the Liverpool Royal Infirmary and, in 1884, was appointed Superintendent and Head Nurse at the Belfast Union Workhouse Infirmary. She introduced uniforms for nurses and established a nurse training school in 1887.
If you fancy learning more about the Queen’s Quarter, come on my tour of the area! Details are here.