RCSI Heritage Collections

The Crampton Memorial Fountain This drinking fountain, which was located on the junction of College, D'Olier and Pearse Street, was erected in Sir Philip Crampton's honour in 1862. It was designed by Joseph Kirk, RHA, and was constructed of bronze, Aberdeen and Irish granite and black marble. It was 25 foot high and featured Indian water lillies, abacus (the water plant), dolphin's mouths, shells, a serpent, a saw, a heron, a pelican and a bust of Crampton himself. It was warmly referred to as 'The Cauliflower' or 'The Pineapple' by Dubliners. Quite a unique design and not to everyone's liking, as Sir Charles Cameron makes known in his History of the Royal College of Surgeon in Ireland  'A marble statue of Crampton from the master chisel of Foley, placed in the College Hall, would have been a more suitable memorial of him than the inartistic structure in College Street'. Why was Crampton given a memorial fountain, be it a weird looking o...

Thomas Heazle Parke was the first Irishman to cross Africa. He accompanied the explorer Henry Morton Stanley in 1887 on his expedition to reach and free the besieged Emin Pasha. People in Dublin pass his statute everyday, which stands outside the Natural History Museum on Merrion Square and the majority would not know the achievements of this revered and extraordinary man from Leitrim. Statue of Thomas Heazle Parke outside the Natural History Museum, Dublin Parke was born in Clogher House, Kilmore, Co. Roscommon in 1857 and was the second son of William Parke and his wide Henrietta Holmes. He entered the RCSI in 1875 and took the LRCSI in 1878. He took the LKQCPI (Kings and Queen's College) the following year. He joined the Army Medical Department in 1881 when 23 years old and continued in service until the time of his death.  Parke was posted to Egypt in 1882 and served in all the Egyptian and Soudan campaigns; Tel-el-Kebir campaign 1882; Nile campaign 1884-1885; Metemnh; ...

Another 3 decades of the RCSI Roll of Licentiates have been made available on our website . They are the years 1890 up to 1920, so feature those who received their licence before, during and after the First World War. One such person was John Cecil Lynmore Day from Limerick whose signature can be seen below, fourth name from the top. RCSI Roll of Licentiates 1910-1911 RCSI/LIC/02 Day received his licence from the College on the 10th February 1910. He then features in the RCSI Roll of Honour 1914-1918, an honours list that was produced by the College to remember and celebrate all those staff and students that played their part in the Great War. Day's name can be seen in the image below, fifth from the bottom. RCSI Roll of Honour 1914-1918  Browse these newly added years and who knows you may find the name of that long lost relative you were told tales about when younger! - Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy