The Highlight of Culture Night at the RCPI: The Library

Culture Night ran for its tenth year this year and over the years, it has grown in popularity with more and more people participating in the events all around the country; visiting galleries, museums and important historic buildings that wouldn't normally be accessible throughout the year. It’s a special night in which people of all ages can partake. Culture Night at the RCPI was a roaring success with just under 3000 people visiting the College on the night between 5pm and 11pm on Friday 18th September 2015.  

The architecture of the college building speaks for itself but the history really brings it to life. The public were free to walk around the rooms as they pleased but there was always a member of staff on hand to answer questions. I was positioned in Dun Library which was a real treat. It seemed to be one of the most favoured rooms on the night as everyone who entered seemed enthusiastic about the interior architecture and design, as well as the history associated with it.

Sir Patrick Dun (1642-1713) left his personal library to the College on his death which was the foundation of the College’s library. As you enter the library, you will immediately be blown away by the glistening chandeliers, the beautiful high ceilings with ornate stucco work, the cobalt blue Donegal made carpet with the college’s coat of arms and the magnificent drapery on the windows. The most fascinating features of the library are the speaking tubes in one of the bookcases which were used as a way of communicating between the rooms within the college. The classical music played in the library throughout the night created a relaxing and serene ambiance and transported the visitors back in time. Many people settled themselves on the chairs around the room to relax and enjoy the surroundings. 

There are over 30,000 volumes of texts, journals and pamphlets in the library; the core collection is the working library of the College, collected over 250 years.  There are also a number of notable donations from Dr. Fleetwood Churchill, Dr T P C Kirkpatrick and Dr. Edward Hill, whose portraits all hang in the library. The earliest work in the library is Cato’s beautifully bound Libri de re rustica (1521) on farming and rural life. The library is a historic library thus no new or modern texts on medical practices are added to the collection. It remains an important resource for the history of medicine and medical education in Ireland, and remains open to all researchers. The Heritage Centre is currently undertaking a project to catalogue the entire library’s holdings; the catalogue can be searched online here.