He began his medical training under William Hartigan and George Stewart, leading Dublin surgeons.

[2] The greater part of Adams' anatomical studies were undertaken in the RCSI under Abraham Colles.

[4] His work focussed on cardiac, respiratory, vascular and joint diseases, and emphasised postmortem examination.

[5] He published a number of important medical texts, including Diseases of the Heart, but it was his work on gout, from which he suffered himself, that made him famous.

Adams died 13 January 1875 and was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin.