Medicine

Painting of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)

The RCSI was founded in 1784 and stands on the corner of St Stephen's Green in Dublin. This painting, by an unnamed artist, depicts the building sometime in the 19th Century.

Painting of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)

Painting of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)

The RCSI was founded in 1784 and stands on the corner of St Stephen's Green in Dublin. This painting, by an unnamed artist, depicts the building sometime in the 19th Century.

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Over the past 250 years, Irish medical scientists and doctors have pioneered numerous new medical treatments, techniques and instruments, ranging from the modern stethoscope to the cause of yellow fever.

The previous century had been a bad time for sick people in Ireland: the monasteries, which traditionally cared for the sick, were closed by Henry VIII, and the once powerful medical clans had disappeared.

The situation began to improve in the 1650s, with the arrival of some college-educated physicians: unlike the old order, these were Protestants who had studied at Dublin's new Trinity College or came to Ireland with Cromwell.