RCSI Heritage Collections

RCSI’s College Arms share a couple of popular St. Patrick symbols. Can you spot them? RCSI College Armorial Bearings The Shamrock ‘The Supporters are Irish elks, with chaplets of shamrock around their necks' The shamrock has been used as a symbol over the ages, and is attributed to Saint Patrick in his attempt to describe the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. It later became one of the symbols to represent Ireland itself. The Snake ‘The Crest (has) an eagle, preying on a serpent, which was an emblem of disease’. The snake has long held associations with disease, death and evil. However, in the legend of Patrick, when he banishes snakes from Ireland he is presumably banishing evil in the form of paganism rather than disease. RCSI College Arms Our current College Arms date to 1907, but RCSI’s heraldry has evolved over time. JDH Widdess, medical historian and past RCSI Librarian and Professor of Biology, traced the symbolic influences such as the surgeon’s lancet stemming from t...

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland had an Officer Training Corps (OTC) garrison stationed in it's main building on Stephen's Green in the early 1900s, much the same as Trinity College did. This RCSI OTC provided military training to students in the College. As the members of the OTC were full-time students they were not expected to serve on operations. In the RCSI Heritage Collections we have a number of items relating to the College's OTC. Below you will see the official handbook and regulations that were issued to the OTC stationed in the College. RCSI OTC Handbook 1912 RCSI OTC Regulations 1912 Members of the College OTC would have been in the band who played at events, processions and ceremonies that took place in the College. The drums were a military instrument used to keep time while marching and also transmit signals across the battlefield. The RCSI band can be seen in the photograph below which was taken just before the ou...

    The late J.D.H Widdess, Librarian and Professor of Biology, knew more about the College than any other person. His account of the Arms of the College explains how suitable armorial bearings were devised and used from 1784 until 1907 when it was realised that formal authority to use a coat of arms had never been obtained.   An application was made immediately to the Ulster King of Arms, the heraldic authority in Ireland, who had his office in Dublin Castle. A grant of arms was given on 20th March 1907 consisting of a shield, crest and supporters. Its official description in the language of heraldry is quite a mouthful:      'Argent on a Saltire gules, a dexter hand apaumée fessewise, couped at the wrist proper, on a Chief      ermine harp crowned between two fleams or; for CREST on a wreath of the Colours an Eagle     preying on a serpent proper; for SUPPORTERS two Irish elks each gorged with a C...