RCSI Heritage Collections

Look closely and you will see that Heritage Collections has installed a display of microscopes in the '1784' restaurant! At various times in the mid 19th century, Dublin was home to two trailblazing microscopical groups: the Microscopical Society of Dublin and the Dublin Microscopical Club. The former was founded in 1840 and lasted for only 15 years, and was attended by John Barker (1818-1879), Curator of the Museum in RCSI. The latter, however, ran for around 70 years until c.1926.   The microscope became an important tool for studying nature, using preparations of animals, plants, blood and tissue. Both a leisure activity for the middle class and an emerging field in the leading institutions, club membership began to see an increase of professionals and the microscopical activity on the Dublin scene in this era was distinguished. Several societies in Dublin were involved in natural history, including the Royal Zoological Society, Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, and the Ro...

Since the  Heritage Council funding  announcement in April,  'Colles at 250' has meant a flurry of activity and events in RCSI.  If you haven't yet heard about 'Colles at 250', enjoy this short video and find out a little more... The Recap... A unique collaboration between RCSI Library and the Men's Shed Association resulted in two beautiful display cases for Heritage Collections pop-up exhibitions, as well as this wonderful short video on the project. Pop-up exhibition on Abraham Colles   Men's Shed team The 'Colles at 250' series of Heritage Week events in August paid tribute to the anatomist and surgeon Abraham Colles, a pivotal figure in the history of  medicine and of RCSI. The series included discussions, tours and innovative online resources remembering a surgeon whose influence on the field of anatomy is still seen worldwide. Free tours as part of the Heritage Week programme To launch the programme and  virtual exhibition , RCSI held a fas...

On Sunday 17th April the exhibition Surgeons & Insurgents: RCSI and the Easter Rising closed after a triumphant, yet short, run of just over three weeks. But the closing of the College's front door does not mean the end of the exhibition. We are delighted to announce that it will be travelling to the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Lexicon Library situated on Haigh Terrace in Dún Laoghaire. RCSI exhibition Surgeons & Insurgents heads out to Dun Laoghaire next month The entwined lives of the nine surgeons and nine insurgents featured in the exhibition will continue to enthral and intrigue audiences from 2nd May until 3rd June 2016.   Visitors will also be able to attend two talks that relate to these surgeons and the ambulance staff that risked their lives to save soldier, rebel and civilians alike during that historic week. These talks will be delivered by Meadhbh Murphy, RCSI Archivist, and Padraig Allen, archivist in St John Ambulance. Dates and times for these talks c...