Sir, - With reference to Dr William Reville's very fine article on Dr Denis Burkitt, who is famous for providing a cure for Burkitt's Lymphona and for promoting the need for a high fibre diet (The Irish Times, February 1st), readers might like to know that Dr Burkitt is honoured by the Burkitt Ward in The Adelaide and Meath Hospital at Tallaght.
Dr Reville did not refer to the fact that Dr Burkitt was a student in the Adelaide Hospital in 1931 and a resident in 1934. He qualified in 1935 and was a house surgeon in the Adelaide in the years immediately before he served overseas. He is one of the famous Adelaide doctors whose careers are outlined in David Mitchell's A Peculiar Place the history of the Adelaide (1989), where he was described as "truly a genius of a scarce pattern".
His work and Christian vision continues to inspire the Adelaide Hospital Society in seeking to advance healthcare, especially for the "poor of every denomination". - Yours, etc.,
Dr Fergus O'Ferrall, Director, The Adelaide Hospital Society, Tallaght, Dublin 24.