DCU’s Nursing building renamed to honour Alice Reeves, pioneering nurse and matron of Dr Steevens’ Hospital
Dublin City University’s Nursing building, home to the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health and the School of Psychology, has been renamed in honour of pioneering nurse Alice Reeves.
Alice Reeves (1874-1955) was an Irish nurse who opened up entry to nursing and education by campaigning for the removal of the entrance fee for probationer nurses, and applied for the council's affiliation with the International Council of Nurses in Helsinki when the National Council of Nurses was established in Ireland. She was a founder of the Nation's Tribute to Nurses Fund, a fund that supported old or otherwise distressed nurses financially.
Speaking about the renaming of the building in honour of Ms Reeves, Prof Blánaid White, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Health said
“We are incredibly proud of the quality of our education of healthcare professionals here in DCU, including our nurses, psychologists and psychotherapists. And we are honoured to name the home of these students’ learning after the pioneering Alice Reeves, who worked tirelessly both for her patients and her peers.”
About Alice Reeves
At age 19 Alice Reeves trained as a nurse at Adelaide Hospital in Dublin, becoming a ward sister there. She was appointed matron of the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in 1908, and remained there until 1918, when she moved to Dr Steevens’ Hospital in Kilmainham as lady superintendent and matron. She would hold this position for 30 years.
For her work in the standardisation and professionalisation of nursing, Reeves received a number of honours. She received a Royal Red Cross for her work during World War I. Trinity College awarded her an honorary MA degree in 1947, and in 1949 she was the first Irishwoman to receive the Florence Nightingale Medal.