William Robert MacDermott was an Irish military surgeon and medical officer. He was the dispensary doctor of the Poyntzpass district from 1867 until his death in 1918. He was well known in the local area and was notable for his service in the Confederate States army, his activism in providing better sanitation for the area, and for his dedication to the local community, which he also served as a judge at the monthly petty sessions. Early life and American Civil War Not much is known about MacDermott's childhood, other than he was born in Dublin to Ralph Nash MacDermott, who was from a family of practitioners; the son of William MacDermott of Bunratty and Elizabeth Nash, daughter of Ralph Nash of Cahirconlish. MacDermott's father was a man of means, being described as a ‘physician and surgeon‘ and having property at Athboy and Kells, in Co. Meath, and in Dublin. MacDermott entered Trinity in 1859, aged 20, but between 1861 and 1864 he drops off the Trinity books. MacDermott was in America, having emigrated to Missouri just before the outbreak of the Civil War. When the war came, he enlisted with the Confederate forces of the Missouri State Guard. In his book The Green Republic, MacDermott alludes to his ‘service to the Southern states’, as he describes it. Nothing much more is known about this time in his life, but he returned to Ireland in 1864, took his degree, and was appointed Medical Officer for the Poyntzpass District in November 1867. Career in Poyntzpass and later life MacDermott served Poyntzpass and the surrounding countryside for more than 50 years, becoming a vital, well-known, and well-liked member of the community. He worked to improve the conditions in the village itself, and had water samples sent to London for testing. He was known for his humour and, at times, inappropriate bedside manner; at one stage greeting a bed-ridden patient (who was not suffering from anything terminal) with "you’re going to die", which, although in the long run was true, did nothing to alleviate the patient's concern. In 1869, he performed surgery on a local man who had suffered a gunshot wound in his side, saving his life, a task he must have been familiar with after his time spent in the Confederate army. In about 1902 a local boy, William McGivern, aged about 15 at the time, has his leg badly injured by