George Sigerson was an Irish physician, scientist, writer, politician and poet.
Background
Sigerson was born at Holy Hill, near Strabane in County Tyrone, the son of William and Nancy (née Neilson) Sigerson. He attended Letterkenny Academy but was sent by his father, William, who developed the spade mill and who played an active role in the development of Artigarvan, to complete his education in France.
Education
He studied medicine at the Queen"s College, Galway, and Queen"s College, Cork, and took his degree in 1859.
Career
He was a leading light in the Irish Literary Revival of the late 19th century in Ireland. He then went to Paris where he spent some time studying under Charcot and Duchenne. A fellow-student was Sigmund Freud.
He returned to Ireland and opened a practice in Dublin, specializing as a neurologist.
He continued to visit France annually to study under Charcot. His patients included Maud Gonne, Austin Clarke and Nora Barnacle.
He lectured on medicine at the Catholic University of Ireland. He was professor of zoology and later botany at the University College Dublin.
His first book, The Poets and Poetry of Munster, appeared in 1860.
He was actively involved in political journalism for many years, writing for The Nation. They frequently held Sunday evening salons at their Dublin home, Number. 3 Clare Street, to which artists, intellectuals and rebels alike attended, including O"Leary, Yeats, Patrick Pearse, Roger Casement and 1916 signatory Thomas MacDonagh.
Nominated to the first Senate of the Irish Free State, Sigerson briefly served as the first chairman on 11–12 December 1922 before the election of Lord Glenavy.
On 18 February 1925, the day after his death, the Senate paid tribute to him. The Sigerson Cup, the top division of third level Gaelic Football competition in Ireland is named in his honour.
Sigerson donated the salary from his post at University College Dublin so that a trophy could be purchased for the competition. In 2009, he was named in the Sunday Tribune"s list of the "125 Most Influential People In Gaelic Athletic Association History".
The cup was first presented in 1911, with the inaugural winners being University College Dublin. George Sigerson died at his home in 3 Clare Street, Dublin, on 17 February 1925, aged 89, after a short illness.
She died in 1898. The couple had four children. Only one of George and Hester Sigerson"s children, Anna Hester, outlived them both.