RCSI Heritage Collections

Plaque at 1 Merrion Square (Photo by Paul Murphy, Deputy Librarian RCSI) Sir William Wilde LRCSI, FRCSI was born in Castlerea, County Roscommon towards the end of spring 1815. To mark this bicentenary the County Librarian organised an event in Castlerea over the weekend of April  16 th -18 th.  William's father Thomas was a physician and the Wilde family home fronted onto Barrack Street. There was a poignant visit to the nearby Church of Ireland cemetery to the grave of Dr Thomas Wilde which had been identified and its fractured gravestone recently restored. William accompanied his father visiting patients throughout the countryside. From this came many of his life-long interests: country lore , healing charms, social conditions and the circumstances of people's lives. William Wilde was destined for great things. His father had steered him towards Surgery and having obtained his medical education at RCSI he trained in Vienna under the leading eye and ear surgeons ...

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...

With the bicentenary of Sir William Wilde only around the corner, the RCSI Heritage Collections decided to look at another gifted eye and ear surgeon who lived, worked and taught in Dublin at the same time as Wilde. A major difference between these two characters was their levels of flamboyancy and it's because of this that Arthur Jacob is not as widely known as Wilde. Bust of Arthur Jacob by Joseph Robinson Kirk Arthur Jacob PRCSI 1837 and 1864 Arthur came from a medical family. His father, John, was Surgeon to Queen's County Infirmary and enjoyed a large practice while his grandfather, Michael, was also a surgeon. Arthur started his medical education be becoming indentured to his father in 1808. In 1811 he became a pupil of Abraham Colles in Steevens' Hospital. Like many other surgeons of the time, Arthur travelled to further his surgical knowledge. He went to the University of Edinburgh and graduated with an M.D. in 1814. The it was to London where he stud...

On 22nd April Irish Doctors in the First World War , a book by Patrick Casey, Kevin Cullen and ex-RCSI Council member Joe Duignan, will be launched in the College. 'This unique book records the experiences of Irish doctors who joined the British armed forces and describes their journey from the relative calm, of a pre-war medical career to the horrors of the First World War.' - Irish Academic Press  WW1 material on display in the College Numerous staff and students from RCSI made the trip over to Europe to use their medical skills and training in saving those who were fighting on the front line in WW1. During and after the WW1 the College continuously compiled the names of these doctors through despatches, newspaper reports, contact with families etc and created the RCSI Roll of Honour 1914-1918. This honours list was produced to remember and celebrate the compassion, medical skill and unselfish nature of those staff and students, some of whom were n...

A couple of weeks ago the RCSI Heritage Collections was paid a visit by one of the RCSI Accounts Department and he came bearing gifts! While clearing out an old storage room they came across College accounts in pristine condition and dating from 1915 to 1960. RCSI accounts dating from 1915 to 1960 The first account just happens to be from this week 100 years ago. Spooky! Accounts like these contain a wealth of information and not just about accounts but about social history. They can also let you see what services/items cost at the time and who was being paid, be they an individual or a company. Looking at the ones below you will see some familiar names associated with the College popping up   Professor (Alfred) Scott   Professor (George Jameson) Johnston   Sir C(harles) A. Cameron RCSI Accounts from 5th April 1915 One name that struck me was the Professor of Medical Jurisprudence, Hugh Alexander Auchinleck. Not only is the name a little unusual but Auchin...

On Monday 6 th April O’Connell Street will be transported back in time to 1915 when Dubliners were fighting a war in foreign lands and another was soon to erupt on their streets. What were the living conditions like for these city dwellers a century ago? What medical instruments were being used to carry out surgical procedures? RSCI Heritage Collections will be on hand at RTÉ’s Road to the Rising event to shed some light on these and other medical archive questions.  Advertisements from the Medical Directory of 1915 Advertisements from the Medical Directory of 1915 Advertisements from the  Medical Directory of 1915 Copies of the Medical Directory will be available to consult, advertisements from the early 1900s will be on view and medical instruments will be on display. Sir Charles Cameron, President of RCSI 1885-1886, was Public Health Officer for Dublin in the early 1900s. He published meticulous annual reports on the sanitation, housing and public...

St. Patrick banishing snakes from Ireland Image courtesy of Jim Fitzpatrick As snakes are associated with medicine through the Rod of Asclepius the RCSI Heritage Collections thought it apt to have a picture of snakes to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, even if they are getting banished! Asclepius , a deity associated with healing and medicinal arts in Greek mythology, is depicted in ancient statues, pottery and coins with snakes and the staff. Because of this association a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing rituals by the ancients. These snakes crawled freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept.  Illustration of the Rod of Asclepius. Aphorisms of Hippocrates dated to 1571. The snake and staff symbol can be seen clearly. Image courtesy of  John P. McGovern Historical Collection If Asclepius is the 'god of medicine' than Hippocrates is the 'father of med...