Noel Browne Book

In the course of a long political career, Dr Noel Browne held public office for less than three years, as Minister for Health from 1948 to 1951. In that brief time he left an indelible mark on Irish life. His introduction of the controversial Mother and Child Scheme, which was effectively vetoed by the Catholic hierachy at the urging of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid and Bishop Michael Browne, and was then abandoned by the cabinet, was a defining moment in Irish church/state relations.