With the release of the Irish 1926 Census, we decided to explore the life of John Ludlow, appointed as College beadle in 1899. He was responsible for looking after the building. With the role, he and his family lived in the basement of our historic home (now our offices!)
📷 Census 1926
📷 RCPI/2/5/3
To celebrate the Faculty of Occupational Medicine's 50th anniversary, we are having a special 50% off their book 'Occupational Health in Ireland - A History'. The book traces the history of the specialty from its foundation in 1976 to recent years 👷♀️👷♂️
Get it for €15 here: https://tinyurl.com/yc93jfud
RCPI is delighted to be hosting a four-day run of Colin Murphy’s Miasma from 13-16 April, at 6pm in 6 Kildare Street. Miasma is a gripping and accessible one-hour play about the fight against the cholera pandemic in 1840s–50s London. Tickets can be purchased here: https://tinyurl.com/4vb4zmac 🎟️
The Annual Meeting of the @hstmnetworkireland.bsky.social takes place in April in the Glucksman Library, University of Limerick. Panels on the day will talk sites and circulation of early modern knowledge, medical practices and botanical knowledge, and Irish astronomy
🖱️: https://tinyurl.com/543jz6fv
A few weeks ago, Prof Áine Carroll kindly donated this remarkable bag, once belonging to her late father Dr John Carroll, former GP in Kilkeel and Mourne ⚫🔴 Growing up in Belfast during WW2, John studied medicine at the birth of the NHS, and throughout his career.
🖱️: https://tinyurl.com/bdczzznp
Happy International Women's Day 💪 We celebrate the doctors who dared to go above and beyond. We think of the female patients for whom we don't always have a name, but remain grateful for, continuing to educate and inform long after their time.
📷 SU/8/3/8
📷 MI/3/12
📷 LS/3/6
#IWD2026 @rcpi.bsky.social
This #WorldBookDay2026, we asked the team to share their current reads 📖
Jess (+ Azzy) 'Cat Land: Feline Enchantment and the Making of the Modern World by Kathryn Hughes 🐈⬛
Chiará: Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin ✝️
Harriet (+ Piglet): The Pretender by Jo Harkin 👑
We just had to hop on the trend 👶 Do you recognise our team from many moons ago? Little did they know what they would end up doing when they were older 🏛️💉💻
#rcpi
We have this elegant, if not slightly intimidating, contraption called the cystoscope - a tube with a camera, used for examining the bladder + urethra. Sir Francis Cruise exhibited his modified cystoscope at RCPI in 1865, explaining its uses in the study + treatment of disease.
Our Dun's Library contains thousands of books in all sorts of languages, so for International Mother Tongue Day we wanted to highlight our very own ☘️ This beautifully decorated book was written by Pádraic Mac Piarais, published in 1907 by Conradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic League) - all as Gaeilge!
#OnThisDay in 1925, past RCPI President, Ephraim MacDowel Cosgrave died. After graduating first in his class from Trinity in 1878, he was Physician to various Dublin hospitals 🏥 He became Fellow of RCPI in 1887 and President from 1914-1916 🎖️ He was involved with the St John Ambulance Association 🚑
Happy Valentine's Day from the Heritage Centre 💕 Whatever you get up to, "let's be careful out there", as shown by this piece of marketing material from the Irish Family Planning Association - which is currently being catalogued 📂
@rcpi.bsky.social #valentinesday #rcpi
Lá Fhéile Bríde shona daoibh 💐 A day celebrating Ireland's patroness, and the welcoming of spring. Brigid, goddess or saint, was known for her healing, having cured her student's burned feet 🦶, and the blind 👁️. She was referred to as a physician by Cormac mac Cuilennáin (831-908AD).
📷 LR/10040
Given the weather outside, here is our copy of "The Law of Storms", in which the author Dove looks at how storms manifest across the globe. He tells of a sad incident in Kilkee, Clare in winter 1865, where two people were killed wave-watching, serving as a reminder to stay safe in harsh weather 🚨🌧️
It is #MuseumSelfieDay, highlighting not only the collections but also the people who work behind the scenes:
1. Harriet (Keeper) with Dr Lynn 👶
2. Chiará (Assistant Keeper) in the Dun Library 📚
3. Amanda (Archivist) in our archive stores 📂
4. Jess (Collection Manager) in our object store 👜
We are delighted to now stock the book 'Polio & Us', compiled by Polio Survivors Ireland, which shares 29 personal stories of polio survivors in Ireland and their ongoing struggles with the long-term effects of the disease 💪
🛍️: https://tinyurl.com/bdejr3se
@rcpi.bsky.social
It is 2026, and we are in the archive to see the New Year of the past 🔙 This was a New Year's card to former RCPI President Sir Andrew Horne (1856-1924) from Lady Aberdeen (1857-1939) - wishing him well in 1924. She was a writer, philanthropist + women's advocate, especially in healthcare 🏥
As 2025 comes to a close, it is time to share the Heritage Centre 2025 Wrapped 🎁 We had a successful year of events, exhibitions, and cataloguing of our collection - here's just a few of those statistics 👀 @rcpi.bsky.social
For news & events, subscribe to our newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/4uet5t6r
As we wrap up the year, we want to share with you the very special visit the Heritage Centre made last week. Clem Kenny invited us to visit Dublin's oldest shop, Reads at 4 Parliament St. We learned about the building's history & restoration. Learn more about the visit: https://tinyurl.com/yt93mv6z
Wait, what's that I see under the twinkling lights of the RCPI Christmas tree? 🎄 Why, if it isn't a selection of books and Irish-made goodies from our online shop 📚🧼 Treat the history nerd in your life 🎁
Explore it all here: https://shop.rcpi.ie/ 🛍️
Last postage dates: https://tinyurl.com/5n6ut7m8 ✉️
🚨 New blog post alert 🚨 Our second 2025 Kirkpatrick History of Medicine Award winner, Kevin Finnan, has kindly written a post for our blog, exploring the role of doctors during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) 🥼🏥
You can read Kevin's blog here: https://tinyurl.com/mpce688f
🎅✨ Deck the Historic Halls ✨🎅 #Christmas has officially arrived at RCPI, and even our archives are feeling festive. From twinkling lights and garlands to centuries-old stories, we've sprinkled a little Christmas magic among our Victorian home 📚🎄
@rcpi.bsky.social #rcpicollections
With the 2026 Kirkpatrick History of Medicine Awards open, we reflect on the 2025 winners. Dr Caitlín Smith has kindly written on her winning research for the Heritage Centre blog. Read about maternal mortality in Belfast during the first half of the 20th century here: https://tinyurl.com/4ub8w5s9 👶
We are delighted to announce that applications are open for the Kirkpatrick History of Medicine Award 2026 🥳 The award encourages engagement with Irish medical history and is open to all 💬
If this sounds like something you are interested in, click: https://tinyurl.com/mr3jw5hy
@rcpi.bsky.social
On Friday, @rcpi.bsky.social hosts the Faculty of Occupational Medicine's Smiley Symposium, honouring Dr James Smiley (1907-88), founding member and past Dean of the Faculty. He was the first industrial health specialist in Ireland, helping workers across the island 🩺
📷1: VM/1/2/S/40
📷2-4: LR/15878
RCSI is hosting a special event this #ScienceWeek, focusing on women's health research, then, now and tomorrow ♀️ With researchers from the Rotunda and RCSI, our own Keeper of Collections Harriet providing the historical context.
You can register your free place here: https://tinyurl.com/22u84eaf
What do an RCPI President and the Giant's Causeway have in common? Legend says that it was built by an Irish giant, but physician Sir Thomas Molyneux was the first to call it as it was, referring to it as a "natural curiosity" 🤔
🖱️: https://tinyurl.com/4x6e28fk
📷1: HI/2016-10-7
📷2-4: LR/4987
It's #Halloween, which means it is only right for us to pick something spooky out of the library 👻 We pulled out something on magic + how, once, physicians were looked upon like magicians, + even gods 🧙 It was in the Middle Ages (during the Plague 🐀) that magic became associated with horror + dread
On 20 October, artist Lynn Kennedy unveiled her portrait of Dr Dorothy Stopford Price (1890-1954) at RCPI 🖼️ Stopford Price was a leading figure in the effort to eradicate TB, pioneering the BCG vaccine in Ireland at St Ultan's Infant Hospital 💉🏥
Read the full story here: https://tinyurl.com/32xyhwkp
It was a busy week, with our Heritage Day taking place during @rcpi.bsky.social's annual conference. We wanted to say thank you to everyone who came along to share the knowledge of cholera, past, present + future. Also, to our speakers for sharing their experiences 💬
🖱️: https://tinyurl.com/mw6y8zns
