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...

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...

William Dease (1752-1798)       The impressive, whole-length seated statue facing the entrance door in the front hall of the College, represents William Dease (1752-1798) one of the founders of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He was the College's first Professor of Surgery and it's President in 1789. The sculptor was Sir Thomas Farrell, RHA. It was presented by the subject's grandson, Matthew O'Reilly Dease. It was unveiled by the Countess of Aberdeen at an afternoon ceremony on 27th April 1886. William Dease was born in Lisney, Co. Cavan, in 1752 to a landed family which had suffered through support of the Stuart cause. He received his professional education in Dublin and Paris, settling in Dublin he soon attained a good practice. He was surgeon to the United Hospitals of St. Nicolas and St. Catherine, in Francis Street, which in 1766 had forty beds and 5 elected surgeons. Dease was an original member of the Dublin Society for Surgeons. A successful pr...