Heritage Week 2022 marks the official launch of RCSI’s new online Digital Heritage Collections website showcasing RCSI’s extensive heritage collections, including newly digitised materials from population health pioneer and campaigner Sir Charles A. Cameron.
For the first time, users can discover the extraordinary individuals and events in RCSI history that have shaped the development of healthcare and society at local, national and international level through a series of curated online exhibitions and never-before-seen digitised material from RCSI Heritage Collections. Explore the site here.
The people’s champion
Funded by the Heritage Council Stewardship Fund, RCSI has digitised and made available a range of never-before-seen material from the papers of population health pioneer, Sir Charles Alexander Cameron.
Spanning several thousand pages across almost half a century, these papers shine a light on the life and work of one of Victorian Dublin's most influential citizens. Discover snapshots of Cameron's legacy in the video below, or explore the newly-digitised Cameron Papers here.
Handwritten diaries and scrapbooks chronicle Cameron’s daily life over the course of four decades. They recount the demands of public appointment and a busy academic career alongside the travails of a personal life oft touched by tragedy - five of Cameron's children pre-deceased him, and he became a widow at the age of 53 with seven children ranging in age from one to sixteen years old.
A range of printed pamphlets, reports, and other writings authored by Cameron in his capacity as Medical Officer of Health document the dire conditions of Victorian Dublin and chronicle his relentless efforts to effect change for the benefit of the city's most vulnerable inhabitants.
Welcoming the launch, Professor Cathal Kelly, RCSI Vice-Chancellor, said:
“Cameron's legacy demonstrates the enduring value of good public hygiene and sanitation as cornerstones in the fight against infectious disease. Digitisation of the Sir Charles Cameron papers will facilitate new historical perspectives on public health in Ireland, and will complement the work of the new RCSI School of Population Health in building global understanding of health, diseases, and their determinants in order to improve the health of human populations around the world.”
Lasting legacy
To mark the centenary of Cameron's death in 2021, RCSI launched a commemorative website highlighting his life, work and legacy.
In 2021, RCSI presented the inaugural Sir Charles A. Cameron Award was presented to Dr Mike Ryan in recognition of his global leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. The award highlights the role of population health in the global effort towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being.
Over three days, RCSI will host free tours of the 123 St. Stephen’s Green to mark National Heritage Week 2022. Members of the public are invited to book tickets here.