RCSI Heritage Collections

The RCSI Heritage Collections are delighted to announce that another two decades of  the  Roll of Licentiates, years 1870 to 1890, are now available online A well known licentiate and Fellow of the College who graduated in 1877 and whose signature can be see in the newly released Ro ll of Licentiates documents is John Freeman Knott (1853-1921). Signature of John Freeman Knott in the RCSI Roll of Licentiates May 1877 Knott was a prolific author of medical reviews and articles, producing over 2,000 from 1880 to 1920. The variety of topics touched on by Knott ranged from Jonathan Swift's death mask to matted hair specimens to spontaneous combustion! Many medical historians and Knott's own contemporaries would use the word 'eccentric' to describe him. Legend has it that Knott was seeking entrance to the College through the front door in 1916 as he wanted to continue research he was conducting. He was unaware that a revolution was happening in the streets of Dublin ...

With the announcement that the houses on Moore Street where the 1916 leaders surrendered are to be restored, the Heritage Collections thought of another reason why this row of houses should be saved. In number 20 Moore Street Dr. William Wallace (1791-1837) opened the first hospital to investigate and treat the numerous skin diseases afflicting the poor in Dublin. The first of it's kind in the whole British Empire. Dr. William Wallace (1791-1837) William Wallace was born in 1791 in Downpatrick, Co. Down to James Wallace and Elizabeth Ledlie. Little is known about Wallace's childhood. At the age of 17 decided to study medicine and was indentured to Dr. Charles Bowden of the Apothecaries Hall in Dublin. Two years later in 1810 he enrolled in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as a medical student. Wallace worked as an apprentice to Charles Hawkes Todd, lecturer in Anatomy. Todd was also surgeon to the Richmond and Lock Hospitals, both had large numbers of patients w...

With the approach of International Women's Day (8th March) we at the RCSI Heritage Collections decided to look into the archives and tell the stories of two remarkable women whose collections are housed here. Victoria Coffey (1911-1999) Victoria P. Coffey (1911-1999) was an outstanding expert in the field of congenital abnormalities. A Dubliner who studied medicine in the RCSI receiving her license in 1936. Coffey gained experience in obstetrics and children's diseases in the Meath and St. Kevin's Hospitals. She received her DPH Diploma from the RCSI in 1943. She held numerous positions such as Extern Assistant in Harcourt Street Children's Hospital, Dublin; Consultant Paediatrician in St. Patrick's Home, Navan Road, Dublin; past president of the Irish Paediatric Association, Biological Society (RCSI) and the Irish and American Paediatric Society 1974-1976 among others. Coffey along with Prof. Patrick Moore were among the pioneers in Ireland in the study of...