Marie Elizabeth Hayes

Marie E. Hayes (17 May 1874 – 3 January 1908), from Raheny, Ireland, was an early female medical graduate from Ireland in 1904, who became a medical missionary and chief of Rewari Hospital in India, part of the Cambridge Mission to Delhi.^[1] Hayes died from pneumonia in 1908. Known for her work, passion, and character, a ward was built in her name in St Stephen's Hospital, Delhi.

Marie Elizabeth Hayes was born on 17 May 1874, at the Glebe House, Raheny, Dublin, Ireland. She was the oldest daughter of Canon F.C. Hayes and his wife, Annabella Wilson. Marie's father was the rector of Raheny Parish from 1873 and her mother founded the Mothers' Union in Ireland to promote the well-being of families.

Hayes started working towards her medical degree in 1897 at Alexandra College in Dublin, Ireland. She continued her education at the Catholic University of Ireland School of Medicine, which was associated with the Royal University of Ireland. Because women were excluded from attending the Protestant Trinity College Dublin, the Catholic University was her only option in seeking a medical degree. At Catholic University she achieved "high status" with a silver medal in surgery, pathology, and obstetrics, one of few female students to achieve this status. She completed a residency at Dublin's Coombe Hospital. She was invited to return to the Coombe as a clerk based on her impact as a resident, and later received a 6-month residency in Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, one of the few hospitals that accepted female residents. She was one of only five female candidates to pass the final degree examination in May, 1904 and was the only female student to obtain an "Upper Pass". She was conferred with the combined MB, BCh and BAO degrees. After obtaining her qualification, in preparation for missionary service in India, she studied at the London School of Tropical Medicine for three months, completed a temporary residency in the S.P.G. missionary hostel in Wandsworth, and studied Urdu. After finishing her studies, Hayes worked as a locum tenens in the Belfast Infirmary for a few months before beginning her mission in India.

Hayes's missionary call was attributed to the role her father's and mother's religious service played in her life. Her mother reported that Marie first expressed interest in missionary work in 1887, at 13 years old, and never lost her compulsion for service.^[2] Her motive in obtaining her medical degree was that so she could become a medical missionary.

When she was home in Ireland, Hayes attended All Saints Church in Raheny.^[3] Her mother and father were members of the church. In India, Hayes preached as a member of a Christian mission.

In 1905, Hayes travelled to her first mission post at Cambridge Mission to Delhi, India. She was accepted into the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (S.P.G.) in January of that year.^[4] From the time Hayes arrived in Punjab, India, her workload was intense due to understaffing in the hospital.^[2]

The mission ran three major hospitals. The first and largest hospital of the mission, St Stephen's Hospital in Delhi, was opened in 1885; it was the first mission hospital for women and children in Delhi. Hayes worked under Jenny Muller, who was the first full-time doctor at this hospital. Seventy miles north of Delhi, the mission had a second hospital in the city of Karnal. Seventy miles southwest of Delhi, the mission had a third hospital in Rewari. Hayes eventually led the Rewari Hospital. St Stephen's Hospital was rebuilt in its present site in Tis Hazari, Old Delhi beginning in December 1906.^[2]

Hayes spent 26 months in India working for the Mission before an early death, and her short period of service was described as "impactful".

Dr. Hayes died at the age of 33.^[5] She had contracted pneumonia at Christmas in 1907 and returned to Delhi on New Year's Day for a celebration. The persistent infection led to death on Saturday 3 January 1908. Her funeral service was held at St. Stephen's Church in Delhi and she was buried at Indian Christian Cemetery. When word of her death got to her home in Ireland, a memorial service was held at All Saints' Church, Raheny, on January 6, 1908.^[3]

Hayes had a significant impact on the mission and paved the way for other women who wished to pursue medical degrees and residencies. After her death, a memorial fund was established in her name in Dublin.^[3] Contributions for the fund came from friends, family, and coworkers living in Dublin, England, and India. This fund was used to finance the construction of a ward in the new St Stephen's Hospital in Delhi, named "The Marie Hayes Ward" in memory of her service in Delhi. She is recognised in the hospital chapel with a memorial brass name plate and a prayer desk inscribed with the words (in Urdu): "For the service of God in prayer and in memory of Dr. Marie Hayes and what work she did. Placed here by nurses of Delhi, Karnal and Rewari. Year of Jesus, 1908."

The impact of Hayes's work and her spirit and devotion to God was recognised by Jenny Muller at St. Stephen's and by Rev. S. S. Allnutt, the head of the Cambridge Delhi Mission for her work. Allnutt wrote an introduction to At Work : Letters of Marie Elizabeth Hayes. He praised her character and contribution to the mission.^[2] In her home village of Raheny, a memorial Celtic cross was built. The engraved cross is beside St. Assam's Church and graveyard in the centre of the village.^[3]

After Hayes's death, her mother published as At Work: Letters of Marie Elizabeth Hayes the letters that Hayes had sent home during her work at the Cambridge Mission,