RCSI Heritage Collections

As it is the Day of Love the Heritage Collections felt it right to tell you the tale of Robert (Robin) Adair. Adair was made one of the first Honorary Fellows of this College on 11 December 1784. Adair is believed to have been a native of Ballymena, Co. Antrim, and was studying medicine in Dublin in the late 1700s. While studying he got into some sort of a scrape. But with very little money and few friends Adair decided that his only option was to flee Dublin and head towards London. Adair arrived in Holyhead with no money to pay for passage to London so he began to walk. Robert (Robin) Adair He had not walked far when he came across a carriage that had been overturned on the bad road. The owner and occupier of the carriage was a well known society lady who had been slightly injured in the accident. Adair offered to help the lady and soon had the carriage righted and road-worthy again. Adair explained that he was a surgeon and offered to inspect the lady's injuries whic...

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland was established by the Charter granted by King George III on 11 February 1784. This date is the highlight of the College year and its celebration has a long tradition.This years annual RCSI Charter Day Dinner is taking place in the College this Saturday 8th of February. Shortly after their incorporation in 1784 the members of the College revived the practice of dining together, which had been instituted by the Society of Surgeons. The Society of Surgeons was a fore-runner of RCSI and had petitioned for this very charter. Over the centuries various events in RCSI were celebrated with dinners and banquets, but in 1901 the meeting of the College to dine together was formalised by a Council resolution that an annual College dinner be held. By 1910 it was decided that the annual dinner be known as the ‘Charter Day Dinner’, and that it be held on February 11, or as near that date as possible.   To have been granted a royal charter made all the...

RCSI Heritage Collections are delighted to announce that the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland came joint 2nd place in the 'Best Interactive Category' in the Heritage Week Awards 2013. During Heritage Week (19-21 August 2013) the College ran 6 public tours that were guided by our Porters and catered for over 360 members of the public. A small collection of historical material was on display during these tours.  If you want to see exactly what material was on display just follow this link to find out more. - Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy

The Heritage Collections are delighted to announce that the years 1828 to 1870 of the RCSI Roll of Licentiates is now available online . Once a graduate had completed their studies, passed their exams and received their licence they signed the Roll of Licentiates. The student signed their full name and gave their place of residence. The variety of nationalities that attended the College in the 1800s is still reflected in the modern student body. In the photograph below the first signature is that of William Robert Wilde upon his qualification in March 1837. Wilde went on to become a renowned eye and ear specialist and ran his own hospital,  St Mark's Ophthalmic Hospital for Diseases of the Eye and Ear in Dublin. He was also  the  father of Oscar Wilde.  RCSI Roll of Licentiates extract from 1837 Follow this link to  RCSI Roll of Licentiates  - Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy

The papers of Emily Winifred Dickson the first female Fellow of the RCSI have been fully catalogued and will soon be available for researchers to study.  Dickson  was born in Tyrone in 1866 to the Ulster Liberal MP Thomas A. Dickson and his wife Elizabeth. She was the second youngest of seven children and was educated at the Ladies Collegiate School in Belfast and Harold House School in London. In 1887 she enrolled in RCSI, where she was the only female medical student. The certificate below is a  RCSI first class certificate in Preliminary Education awarded to Emily Winifred Dickson on 19th October 1887. The certificate is signed by Anthony Corley, President and John Brennan, Registrar.  RCSI/IP/Dickson/1/1/1 RCSI/IP/Dickson/7/3 (Back) RCSI/IP/Dickson/7/3 (Front) The inscription reads  'Presented to Miss Winifred Dickson by Sir William Stokes and Professor Hamilton Professors of Surgery Session 1889-90' Dickson obtained...

Over the holidays we were contacted by Dr. Rod Tanchanco of Delaware, USA, who was looking for images of Robert Adams (RCSI President 1840, 1860 and 1867) and William Stokes (RCPI President 1849) for a blog post he was writing. Robert Adams (1796-1875) William Stokes (1804-1878) Image courtesy of the RCPI Rod's blog entitled 'A Remarkable Slowness of the Pulse' can be found here  Medicine Tales   and what an interesting read it is! - Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy

James Apjohn (1796-1886) was a renowned and respected chemist and physicist who lived and worked in Dublin during the 1800s. He was known internationally for his work on hygrometry and the Apjohn dewpoint. A mineral from Algoa Bay, South Africa, which proved to be an effloresced manganese alum was analysed and described by Apjohn to great acclaim. Subsequently it was named 'Apjohnite' in his honour. James Apjohn (1796-1886) Apjohn was born on 1st September 1796 at his father's property, Sunville, in Pallasgrean, Co. Limerick. He attended the Tipperary Grammar School for four years before entering Trinity College Dublin in 1814 under the tutorship of Rev. Dr. Wall. Apjohn graduated with a B.A in 1817 and took his degree of M.B in 1821. His debút as a lecturer on science took place in the Cork Institution in 1824. He continued lecturing throughout his career and was popular for his lucid style and well devised experiments. In some cases his lectures were so well at...