The Saga of the Irish Giant’s Bones Dismays Medical Ethicists

March 15, 2017

(NPR) – Should the Irish Giant be allowed to rest in peace? That’s the question swirling around the bones of Charles Byrne, a literal giant from Ireland who was an 18th century celebrity. His enormous skeleton is on public display today at a London museum, part of a collection of anatomical specimens acquired by the eminent surgeon and scientist Dr. John Hunter, who died in 1793. The bizarre story of how Byrne’s skeleton got there dismays medical ethicists.