RCSI Heritage Collections

If you strike us down now we shall rise again and renew the fight. You cannot conquer Ireland; you cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom then our children will win it by a better deed.  - Pádraig Pearse This day 100 years ago men, women and children gathered at Liberty Hall to take part in the 1916 Easter Rising and the fight for Ireland to rule herself and be declared a Republic. Just after midday Pádraig Pearse stood outside the General Post Office (GPO), Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) and read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic to a bewildered crowd.  Proclamation of the Irish Republic Courtesy of TCD Unaware of what has to take place surgical, medical and nursing staff treated those who had been brought back injured from the battlefields of World War I. Within hours soldiers, rebels and civilians wounded from the intense fighting on the streets of Dublin would begin to pass throu...

The wealth of historical, societal and cultural information you can gather from newspapers is immense. Not only do newspapers report on major incidents of global importance, but the local and bizarre are also included. RCSI Heritage Collections have a newspaper collection made up of scrapbooks with articles relating to the College which date from the 1880s. Some very odd articles have been included in these scrapbooks that don't really relate to the College. One of these can be seen below. It was taken from The Irish Times on 4th December 1914. As the saying goes "the article speaks for itself"!! Put your hands together! (RCSI/News/02) - Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy

RCSI British Isles Intervarsity Boxing Team This photo landed in the RCSI Heritage Collections last week and what an intriguing photo it is! Luckily there are some handwritten notes on the back that tell us the following 'British Isles intervaristy championships in London 10th January 1950. Centre - Tommy Burns Trainer (a Golden Gloves Champion) Professor A.K.Henry 5th Rt. Top Row (who started the Boxing Club)' Arnold Kirkpatrick Henry was an astonishing man with a varied and coloured medical career. He was born in 1886 and received his early eduction in Trent, England. He then came to study in Trinity College Dublin graduating in 1911 with a M.B, B.Ch, and B.A.O. He became a Fellow f RCSI in 1914 and soon afterwards went off to play his part in the First World War. Henry, with his surgeon wife acting as his assistant, served as a surgeon with the Serbian army. When Germany overran Serbia in 1916 the Henry's escaped and fled back to Britain. For his distinguish...

This day 96 years ago an armistice between the Allies and Germany took place at Compiégne, France which ended the hostilities and brutality of WW1. During the years of fighting millions of people were killed and wounded. In Dublin a small group of people took it upon themselves to open a hospital for wounded officers sent back from the war. This hospital was established on 1 December 1914 with the approval and guidance of the British Red Cross Society. The minute book of this forgotten hospital is housed in the RCSI Heritage Collections. Offer of premises for the hospital made by W. I. De Courcy Wheeler  Minute Book of the Hospital for Wounded Officers The hospital was given premises at 33 Upper Fitzwilliam Street by Sir William Ireland De Courcy Wheeler (1879-1943) who also volunteered his surgical services. The sub-committee was made up of notable wealthy and respected citizens of Dublin including Lady Talbot de Malahide, Lady Powerscourt and Francis T. Heuston F...

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...

While out in the field military medics needed concise and to the point medical reference books. Step forward the Oxford War Primers and  Military Medical Manuals series. These books were produced as an aid to all medical personnel who were working under the harshest condition during wartime. The Oxford War Primers were printed during the First World War by Oxford University Press. They contained much-needed medical information for those in the field. They were small, easy to transport and hard wearing. Some of the topics covered by these practical books can be seen below The Military Medical Manual were produced under the guardianship of Sir Alfred Keogh, Director-General of the Medical Services of the British Army. Keogh was born in Dublin on 3rd July 1857. He studied at Queen's College, Galway and Guy's Hospital London qualifying M.D., M.Ch., R.U.I from the Royal University of Ireland in 1878. Keogh joined the army as a surgeon in 1880 and...