Exploring the history of medicine using our collections
From smallpox vaccination to the surprising preponderance of obstetricians in Irish literature, our exhibitions use our collections to tell the story of medicine and medical education in Ireland.
Our new exhibition will be opening in August 2025
This exhibition explores how typhoid affected medical science and everyday lives in Dublin, a city once described as a 'hotbed of fever'.
The doctor’s bag is the most recognised symbol of the General Practitioner. This exhibition, curated with the Irish College of General Practitioners Retired GPs Group, explores the development of the bag and its contents over the past two centuries.
In August 2023 RCPI issued an open call to artists to submit works on the theme of climate and health, the shortlisted works can all be viewed online here.
Looking back over a year of COVID through the fantastic cartoons of Dr Eoin Kelleher, this exhibition visually charts a momentous year for the medical profession in Ireland.
Explores three aspects of pathology in the nineteenth century - morbid anatomy, microscopes, and the Pathological Society of Dublin.
Explore the discovery of the smallpox vaccination, its introduction to Ireland and how the authorities rolled out the programme of vaccination, and where and when it was opposed,
Discover the life and career of renowned Irish psychiatrist Dr Conolly Norman. His attempts to reform the asylum system and how he helped shape the future of psychiatry.
Explores the early years of the hospital's existence and the intersection of politics, healthcare and religious interests in the Irish Free State and beyond.
An exploration of the prevalence and treatment of tuberculosis in Ireland, curated by Emma Deignan and Rachel Frires, students on the MA in Public History and Cultural Heritage in Trinity College Dublin.
Discover the history of the specialty in Ireland, from its origins in the 1600s and how the gender balance in the specialty has gone from female to male dominated, and back again.
Drawing on our collections, this exhibition explores the impact of the period from the outbreak of the First World War to the end of the Civil War on the medical profession in Ireland.
Discover the story of the foundation of the College, how it has changed and adapted over time, moving from a Royal College to finding a place in an independent Ireland.
Explore the fascinating history of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland with our virtual timeline covering over 250 years.
Want to find out more about he history of the College and medicine in Ireland? We have a selection of history books available in our online shop.
