Mayo memories: Dr. Mervyn Clarke had distinguished medical and military career
By Tom Gillespie
THE late Dr. Mervyn Clarke was the first radiologist appointed to the County Hospital in Castlebar, a position he held for 40 years.
But prior to his sojourn in Mayo, Dr. Clarke, who passed away at the age of 93 years in May 2008, had a distinguished military career.
He joined the British Army and served as a doctor in India and Burma. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was demobbed as a Major.
He was recognised for his outstanding service in the medical corps, which included erecting and overseeing hospitals, and he was honourably mentioned in dispatches.
Author Michael Feeney, in his highly acclaimed publication ‘Remembering Mayo’s fallen heroes’, recalled that Mervyn, a native of Easkey, Co. Sligo, enlisted in Belfast on the outbreak of World War II and was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps and was attached to the Wilshire Regiment as a medical officer.
One of a family of six - all doctors - and steeped in the medical profession, Dr. Clarke’s late father, Denis, was the GP in Easkey. His late mother, Sarah (nee McGee), was a nurse and matron in the Dromore West workhouse, where the couple met.
Educated at the local national schools, including Owenbeg and Easkey, Dr. Clarke attended St. Muredach’s College, Ballina, and Castlenock, where he played rugby. After secondary school he studied medicine at University College Dublin.
His tales of adventure in Britain were many and included briefing Winston Churchill on one occasion.
He spent a considerable time in Burma. He was a most versatile medical officer, his performance was often outside the parameters of normal duties. For example, leading an attack uphill against a Japanese position.
When the Sten gun was introduced to the jungle the design was found to be faulty. It often failed to fire and Mervyn discovered that the magazine spring was not of sufficient strength and he recommended to the Captain Quartermaster that he should lose at least one magazine on every patrol that was sent into the jungle, thereby being able to build up a reserve of magazine springs.
Later when accompanying a patrol into the jungle, they came in contact with a Japanese patrol which they wiped out and the British soldiers quickly moved in to collect what souvenirs they could find.
The top prize was the Japanese officer’s Nambu pistol. Much argument ensued among the infantrymen as to who should keep it. The argument was resolved by the Platoon Sergeant who proclaimed that the medical officer should have it since he knew more about weapons than anyone else in the British Army.
Another story originated in the monsoon season when it was impossible to light a fire. A visiting brigadier noticed a wisp of smoke and spotted a soldier brewing up a cuppa.
In utter amazement he asked Mervyn who the soldier was. Mervyn replied he was a ‘tinker from Tuam’ and that no one else in the world could have lit a fire in such weather.
He fondly remembered the Bren gun being considered for use in the defence forces. At that time, in the 1930s, while he was a medical student in UCD, he served in the Officer Training Corps. He maintained the group was used to try the new machine gun on the basis that if a bunch of UCD students didn’t manage to break it, or lose part of it, the chances were that it would be soldier-proof.
After the Second World War, Dr. Clarke returned to university in England, where he studied radiography.
He was to become one of the leading radiologists in the west of Ireland and set up the first ever X-ray/radiology service in Ballina.
Dr. Clarke was subsequently contacted by the Minister for Health to establish the X-ray departments in Sligo, Donegal, Leitrim, Roscommon and Mayo.
He took the job as consultant radiologist at the County Hospital, Castlebar, where he remained for 40 years and is remembered with fondness and distinction for his work at the hospital.
He also worked in Roscommon where he developed many long-standing friendships, including that of celebrated boat builder Jimmy Furey on the River Shannon.
A very keen environmentalist and protector of natural habitats, Dr. Clarke, who resided at Rosbeg, Westport, worked to preserve our built heritage and once threatened to chain himself to a Westport bridge in a campaign which resulted in a well-known landmark in the centre of the Mayo town being dismantled brick by brick, rebuilt and widened.
Dr. Clarke also took and won a case against the former Asahi Plant at Killala, where former President Mary Robinson acted as his barrister, to ensure the safety of the coastline from discharges.
He also had a great love of fishing and shooting. In later years, he loved to tell stories of goose shooting escapades at remote locations in the Ox Mountains and elsewhere in the west of Ireland.
He was a keen sailor and in earlier years was involved in the family owned draft net fishery at the mouth of the Easkey River. The fishery continued to operate up the early 1990s when it was acquired by the State.
He was an honorary member and president of Belcarra Gun Club and an honorary member of Mayo Air Rifle Club. He was former chairman of the North West Regional Fisheries in the period 1989-1991, during which time he was also a member of the Central Fisheries Board.
Dr. Clarke also served as chairman of the Western Health Board.
Dr. Clarke’s demise occurred in Easkey on May 7, 2008. His funeral service was held in St. James’s Church, Easkey, and he was interred in Roslea Cemetery, Easkey.