Surgeon Extraordinaire
Sylvester O'Halloran was a renowned surgeon/historian born in Limerick early in the 18th century. His choice of career was influenced by the great lack of surgical services in Limerick and in Ireland at that time. Having completed a brilliant course of study in London, Leyden, and Paris, he returned to his native city well equipped to begin his great humanitarian task. He and others founded the Limerick County Infirmary in the city in 1761. The foundation stone is now preserved in the Sylvester O'Halloran Post Graduate Centre at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick.

Despite his many outstanding achievements in surgery and literature, Sylvester O'Halloran's most enduring legacy is the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He had been very impressed while in France with the Académie Royale de Chirurgie, which had been founded in Paris in 1731 during the reign of Louis XV. Sylvester O'Halloran's Proposals for the Advancement of Surgery in Ireland and his driving enthusiasm were directly responsible for the establishment of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1784. His passionate commitment to education, research and surgical skills marked him out from his contemporaries. He was a dedicated doctor to his numerous patients whom he looked after with great compassion. The annual Sylvester O'Halloran Meeting, named in his honour, was started in 1992 by the late Mr Peter Delaney.