Barry was born in
Cork, Ireland, to Richard Barry and Mary Mahony. She gained her medical licence in 1906 from the
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland graduating from the Apothecaries Hall. She was one of only six women to do this between 1885 and 1922. Her residency was with the
Mater Hospital in
Dublin. She gained a Diploma in Public Health in 1905. As one of the early women doctors, Barry was an active and founding member of the
Women's National Health Association which began in 1908. Through the association Barry became the medical officer for nine Babies Clubs in Dublin from 1912 to 1929. Barry was one of the founders of
St Ultan's Infant Hospital that was first opened in 1919 in Dublin, and one of the benefactors and fundraisers for the hospital. She worked with the various government-established councils on public health and medical services in Ireland. Later, Barry began to focus on
TB, and was running sanatoria, one in Rossclare,
County Fermanagh and then the
Peamount Sanatorium in
Newcastle, County Dublin, where she developed treatments and care routines for the children sent there. She was involved in the foundation of the Peamount Industries. ==Fellowship==