The Cork Survivors Still Living With the 1956 Polio Epidemic

More than 4,000 Irish polio survivors are living with the long-term effects of the virus, a group that Polio Survivors Ireland says has been excluded from recent disability support payments. Survivors and advocates gathered at the Cork International Hotel to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Cork polio outbreak.

While Budget 2027 introduced a €500 cost of disability payment, Polio Survivors Ireland CEO Nicola Fogarty pointed out that the allowance remains restricted to people aged between 16 and 66, leaving older survivors without financial recognition for ongoing care costs. Survivors report mounting mobility difficulties, chronic pain, and fatigue decades after initial infection, alongside heavy out-of-pocket expenses for physiotherapy, medications, and home adaptations.

Terror and Epidemic in 1956 Cork

The outbreak 70 years ago transformed daily life across Cork city and county. Máire Ní Chorcora, who contracted polio in October 1954 at 16 months old before the epidemic hit, recalled the widespread dread.

Getting polio was like getting leprosy, that’s what it was like before the vaccine came out, everybody was terrified that their child would get it, it was like leprosy, because it was so contagious.

Máire Ní Chorcora

By 1956, there were 499 cases of polio in Ireland, resulting in 20 deaths, and a quarter occurred in Cork. The disease spread rapidly during the summer months, prompting city medical officer Dr JC Saunders to close the Victoria Cross open-air swimming baths and warn the public that bathing in the River Lee was hazardous.

By August 9, 90 cases had occurred in the city and 34 in County Cork, with young children under six representing the vast majority of cases. Social and commercial life ground to a partial halt, with delayed school openings, cancelled circus visits, and postponed hurling and football finals as families avoided public gatherings and summer holidays.

Iron Lungs and Post-Polio Legacy

Author and historian Vincent McDonnell, speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, described the psychological toll of the era, noting that many children missed out on funerals, weddings, and family milestones while isolated from normal routines.

The Cork epidemic peaked in September of 1956, with dozens of cases across the city and county and resulting deaths. Although a working vaccine had been developed by Dr Jonas Salk in 1955, it had not yet reached Cork during the peak. Polio vaccinations began in Ireland in 1957, and mass inoculation in 1958 was a “gamechanger” that eradicated the illness in Ireland. The last recorded case of wild polio in Ireland was in 1984.

Local support structures emerged from the crisis, beginning with the Cork Poliomyelitis Association, soon renamed the Cork Polio and General After-Care Association. Years later, it became the Cope Foundation. Rebranded in 2024 as Horizons, the charity these days works with people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Today, Polio Survivors Ireland continues to advocate for aging survivors navigating post-polio syndrome, pressing authorities for equitable access to health and disability supports.