Dr Samuel Crumpe born in Rathkeale in 1766. He studied medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Returning to Limerick in 1788, he worked in St. John’s Hospital which had only been founded in 1780 by Lady Lucy Pery Harstonge.

He married Susanna Ingram in 1792, they had a son (who did not live past infancy) and a daughter.

He was a made freeman of Limerick in 25 June 1792. Dr. Crumpe’s work on opium provided an experimental basis for classifying the drug as a stimulant rather than a narcotic. He died on the 27 January 1796 aged 29 of typhus which he contracted from a patient.

He is buried in St. Mary’s Cathedral Graveyard.

Part of the inscription on his tomb reads

“Were his contemporaries to live forever monuments of his talents, it would be unnecessary to eternize his name. But as they also must descend into the grave, it is a just due to the memory of departed worth to inform posterity that beneath this stone is interred a man who to eminent talents, profound judgements and extensive knowledge, added integrity of the heart, benevolence of the disposition and suavity of manners. As a son, a husband, a parent, a friend, his conduct was such as to merit the tenderest love of those with whom he was connected, the warm approbation and esteem of all to whom he was known”

The following is an extract from Dr Samuel Crumpe’s diary of 1795 in which he kept track of the weather each day of that year, monitoring the barometer reading, wind direction, thermostat reading (from March onwards) and general remarks. The temperatures given are in Fahrenheit. 50 degrees Fahrenheit equals 10 degrees Celsius.

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JanFebMarAprMay – Jun – JulAugSepOctNovDec


The following are the entries from his weather diary of 1795 for June

DateBarometerThermostatWindRemarks
01 June 179529.560WShowery
02 June 179529.360NWShowery heavy
03 June 179529.558NWShowery
04 June 179529.558NWSlight showers
05 June 179529.765WDry
06 June 179529.760NWHeavy showers
07 June 179529.760NWShowers
08 June 179529.760NWHeavy rain
09 June 179529.960NEDry
10 June 179530.160SEDry
11 June 179530.160EDry
12 June 17953062NDry
13 June 17953065SEDry
14 June 17953067SDry
15 June 179529.969EDry
16 June 17953069WDry
17 June 17953067NEDry
18 June 179530.160NEDry
19 June 179530.160SEDry
20 June 179530.368WDry
21 June 17953070WSlight showers
22 June 17953070WDry
23 June 179529.969SWDry
24 June 179529.769SWDry
25 June 179529.970SWThunder, heavy showers
26 June 179529.970SWDry
27 June 17953065SWHeavy rain day night
28 June 179529.560WHeavy showers and mists
29 June 179529.560WVery heavy showers
30 June 179529.560WShowery

You can find the Weather Reports for other months in 1795 here.