James MacDonnell | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Dr_James_MacDonnell_(2).jpg) Bust by Charles Moore, Ulster Museum | |
| Born | 14 April 1763 near Cushendall, County Antrim, Ireland |
| Died | 5 April 1845 (aged 81) Belfast |
| Education | David Manson's School, Belfast; University of Edinburgh |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Founder/patron of the Belfast General Hospital, Belfast Fever Hospital, Linenhall Library, Belfast Harp Society, Belfast Literary Society, Royal Belfast Academical Institution |
James MacDonnell (14 April 1763 – 5 April 1845) was an Irish physician and polymath who was an active and liberal figure in the civic and political life of Belfast. He was a founding patron of institutions that have since developed as the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and the Linen Hall Library and, beginning with the organisation of the Belfast Harpers Assembly in 1792, was a promoter of efforts to preserve and revive Irish music and the Irish language. Among some of his contemporaries his reputation suffered in 1803 as a result of his making a subscription for the arrest of his friend, the outlawed United Irishman Thomas Russell.