Bethel Solomons
Encyclopedia
Bethel Albert Herbert Solomons (27 February 1885 – 11 September 1965) was born in Dublin, Ireland
, to a prominent Jewish family. He was the son of Maurice Solomons (1832–1922), an optician whose family came to Dublin from England in 1824. He became a medical doctor and was Master of the Rotunda Hospital
in Dublin from 1926 to 1933, an international rugby player for Ireland
and supporter of the 1916 Rising
.
He attended St. Andrews School in Dublin where he was very interested in sport, and he went on to study medicine in Trinity College, Dublin
. He earned 10 international rugby caps for Ireland (1908–1910).
In a biography of Solomons he was described as World famous obstetrician & gynaecologist, Rugby international, horseman, leader of Liberal Jewry & of Irish literary & artistic renaissance
He served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) in the late 1940s and he practiced from No. 30 Lr. Baggot Street.
Solomons was a founding member and the first president of the Liberal Synagogue in Dublin. He married Gertrude Levy in the liberal synagogue in London in 1916. He was a friend of the founder of Sinn Fein
and TD
Arthur Griffith
. Solomons contributed to the purchase of a house for Griffith.
's Ulysses
:
His grandmother Rosa Jacobs Solomons (1833–1926) was born in Hull
in England. His elder brother Edwin (1879–1964) was a stockbroker and prominent member of the Dublin Jewish community. His sister Estella Solomons
(1882–1968) was a leading artist, and a member of Cumann na mBan
during the 1916 rising; she married poet and publisher Seamus O'Sullivan
. His younger sister Sophie was a trained opera singer.
His second son Dr Michael Solomons (1919–2007) was a distinguished gynaecologist, a pioneer of family planning in Ireland and a veteran of the bitter and divisive 1983 constitutional amendment campaign,
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, to a prominent Jewish family. He was the son of Maurice Solomons (1832–1922), an optician whose family came to Dublin from England in 1824. He became a medical doctor and was Master of the Rotunda Hospital
Rotunda Hospital
The Rotunda Hospital is one of the three main maternity hospitals in the city of Dublin, the others being the The Coombe and The National Maternity Hospital...
in Dublin from 1926 to 1933, an international rugby player for Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and supporter of the 1916 Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
.
He attended St. Andrews School in Dublin where he was very interested in sport, and he went on to study medicine in Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
. He earned 10 international rugby caps for Ireland (1908–1910).
In a biography of Solomons he was described as World famous obstetrician & gynaecologist, Rugby international, horseman, leader of Liberal Jewry & of Irish literary & artistic renaissance
He served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) in the late 1940s and he practiced from No. 30 Lr. Baggot Street.
Solomons was a founding member and the first president of the Liberal Synagogue in Dublin. He married Gertrude Levy in the liberal synagogue in London in 1916. He was a friend of the founder of Sinn Fein
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and TD
TD
TD may stand for:* Atlantis European Airways IATA designator* MG TD Midget, a car manufactured in the United Kingdom between 1950 and 1953* TD, an ITU prefix assigned to Guatemala * T.D...
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...
. Solomons contributed to the purchase of a house for Griffith.
Family
The Solomons, who came over from England in 1824, are one of the oldest continuous Jewish family lines in Ireland. Bethel Solomons was the son of Maurice Solomons (1832–1922), an optician whose practice in 19 Nassau Street in Dublin is mentioned in James JoyceJames Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
:
- Striding past Finn's hotel Cashel Boyle O'Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell stared through a fierce eyeglass across the carriages at the head of Mr M. E. Solomons in the window of the Austro-Hungarian viceconsulate.
His grandmother Rosa Jacobs Solomons (1833–1926) was born in Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
in England. His elder brother Edwin (1879–1964) was a stockbroker and prominent member of the Dublin Jewish community. His sister Estella Solomons
Estella Solomons
Estella Francis Solomons was one of the leading Irish artists of her generation.-Life:She was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Maurice Solomons , an optician whose practice in 19 Nassau St., Dublin, is mentioned in Ulysses. Her family, the Solomons, who came to Dublin from England in 1824,...
(1882–1968) was a leading artist, and a member of Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914 as an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers...
during the 1916 rising; she married poet and publisher Seamus O'Sullivan
Seamus O'Sullivan
Seumas or Seamus O'Sullivan, real name James Sullivan Starkey, was an Irish poet and editor of The Dublin Magazine. He was born in Dublin and spent his adult life in the suburb of Rathgar...
. His younger sister Sophie was a trained opera singer.
His second son Dr Michael Solomons (1919–2007) was a distinguished gynaecologist, a pioneer of family planning in Ireland and a veteran of the bitter and divisive 1983 constitutional amendment campaign,