Barrymaniac
/ˈbɑːri meɪnɪak/
noun
person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal for Dr James Barry (1789-1865), a 19th century transgender army surgeon from Cork City, Ireland.
This is a site intended to be an archive for information about Dr James Barry. While the majority of the resources here will link elsewhere there will also be some original pieces.
The term 'Barrymaniac' comes from a letter written to someone addressed as 'My dear Davies'. It is undated but I estimate it to be from around 1960. The letter can be found in a file titled Correspondence with Professor P.R. Kirby and with descendants of the Barry Family and of James Barry Munnik on the Wellcome Collection.
Here is the exerpt from the letter:
"The letter of James Barry (Xth) would,of course cause tremendous excitement among Percival Kirby and the other Barrymaniacs who cant keep him out of their systems!"
This site is run by one person, a self-professed Barrymaniac in their early twenties. He is genderqueer (he/they) and can be referred to simply as N. They are Irish, since being imported, and are particularly interested in researching Barry's connection to Ireland, the Irish language and Catholicism.
It is important to keep in mind that I am not a scholar, I am not an academic, I am not a historian, (I am not a web designer), I am simply a writer with ADHD and a passion for Dr Barry which has resulted in me reading everything I can get my hands on relating to him. Sometimes the things I say might be wrong but I am trying my best. Everything that I state must be understood with the caveat that it is only true to the best of my knowledge.