Carlow College Lecturer in History, Dr Ida Milne, was recently recognised for her COVID-19 contribution to the Irish Defence Forces.

On 6 May 2020, Dr Milne gave a talk on how Covid-19 might impact on Irish society to the Irish Defence Forces Covid-19 Taskforce, who were then assessing what measures should be put in place to cope with the pandemic from a defence forces perspective.

Dr Milne, a social historian of disease and medicine, drew on her research on the 1918-19 influenza pandemic to suggest what social or age groups would be most vulnerable in the Covid-19 pandemic, looked at past mitigation measures, and discussed army barracks and army medical reports from 1918-19.  

To acknowledge this, Dr Milne was presented an engraved token by Colonel Stephen Ryan on 18th February at the Robert Boyle Winter School organised by Eoin Gill and SETU Calmast in the RDS. Colonel Ryan noted Dr Milne’s talk was influential in persuading the defence forces to prioritise masking.