RCSI Heritage Collections

We were at RCSI Heritage Collections could not let today pass without mentioning Abraham Colles.  Abraham Colles (1773-1843) Today 173 years ago Colles passed away at the age of 70 in his house, 21 St Stephen's Green. Abraham Colles was born in Milmount, Co. Kilkenny on 23 July 1773. Over the next 70 years he would come to dominate the world of surgery both in Ireland and around the world.  Colles entered TCD in September 1790 and received his B.A in April 1795. At the same time he registered in RCSI and was indentured to Philip Woodroffe. Colles received his ‘letters testimonial’ from RCSI in September 1795. That same year he travelled to Edinburgh where he devoted himself to furthering his medical studies. Colles' indenture to Philip Woodroffe, signed by both men  In June 1797 he graduated as Doctor of Medicine in Edinburgh and made his way London to take up his residence. By the winter of 1797, Colles was back in Dublin and had taken up his residence in Ch...

As Explore Your Archive week draws to an end, RCSI Heritage Collections decided to look at an explorer and surgeon who has for many decades lived very quietly in the archives. But today is his day to shine! Put your archive loving hands together for..... David Walker! David Walker (1837-1917) by Stephen Pearce (NPG 922) National Portrait Gallery, London David Walker was the surgeon and naturalist who accompanied Sir Francis Leopold McClintock to the Arctic on the yacht Fox in 1857, to try and locate the missing Franklin expedition. Sir John Franklin , his two ships Erebus and Terror and 129 crew had left London in the summer of 1845 to try and discover a navigable north-west passage and had not been heard of since.  After numerous unsuccessful public search expeditions, Lady Franklin decided to finance a private search expedition to uncover some evidence of what had happened to her husband and his men. She contacted McClintock, who was in Dublin on a leav...

Thomas Heazle Parke was the first Irishman to cross Africa. He accompanied the explorer Henry Morton Stanley in 1887 on his expedition to reach and free the besieged Emin Pasha. People in Dublin pass his statute everyday, which stands outside the Natural History Museum on Merrion Square and the majority would not know the achievements of this revered and extraordinary man from Leitrim. Statue of Thomas Heazle Parke outside the Natural History Museum, Dublin Parke was born in Clogher House, Kilmore, Co. Roscommon in 1857 and was the second son of William Parke and his wide Henrietta Holmes. He entered the RCSI in 1875 and took the LRCSI in 1878. He took the LKQCPI (Kings and Queen's College) the following year. He joined the Army Medical Department in 1881 when 23 years old and continued in service until the time of his death.  Parke was posted to Egypt in 1882 and served in all the Egyptian and Soudan campaigns; Tel-el-Kebir campaign 1882; Nile campaign 1884-1885; Metemnh; ...