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Dr Victoria Coffey
Dr Victoria Coffey (16 September 1911 - 15 June 1999) was one of the first female pediatrician in Ireland.

Early Life
Coffey was born at 108 Brunswick Street, Dublin, to John and Ellie. Her father was a weigh-master while her paternal grandfather, William Coffey, had been lord mayor of Dublin in 1909-10.

Medical career
Coffey was educated at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland,and graduated with the licentiate degree and the degree in midwifery of the conjoint board of the royal collegees in 1936. Later in 1943, she took the diploma in children's health of the RCSI.

Coffey's first house officer position was as a surgeon at the Meath Hospital, working alongside Tom Lane, Oliver St John Gogarty, Henry Stokes, and Robert Collis. She also served as a clinical clerk at the Coombe Hospital for women before being appointed medical officer in charge of children at St Kevin's Hospital in 1943. Coffey had to work long hours due to a small team of medical staff for patients who were mostly considered as terminally ill. She became well known for her capacity for hard work. At one point she was in charge of a maternity ward, a sick infant's ward and the children's hospital - 136 beds in total. Although there were more appointment of nursing and medical staffs from the 1950s onward, Coffey remained the sole paediatric consultant for a long period.