Royal College Of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)

History of RCSI
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland was granted a Charter on 11th February 1784. This Charter gave the College the power to control the practice of surgery and to make provision for surgical education.

Prior to that time the surgeons were grouped with the barbers and the Barbers Surgeons Guild. The founders had no premises so the earliest meeting was held in the boardroom of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. Subsequently, a disused hall in Mercer Street beside Mercer's Hospital was acquired.

Stimulus for growth
The College flourished from the very start and in 1810 moved to its present location at the corner of York Street facing St Stephen's Green. The site acquired for the building at that time was a disused Quaker graveyard. The College set about educating doctors with a strong emphasis on surgery. The founding fathers were very influenced by the standard of surgery in France at that time.

Out of respect for the French College of Surgeons they adopted the motto which is our motto to the present time of "Consilio Manuque" meaning Scholarship and Dexterity. The stimulus for growth in the early years was the demand for Army and Navy surgeons for the Napoleonic wars.

Over the past forty years the College has become home to the Faculties of Anaesthesists, Radiologists, Dentistry and Nursing. These bodies functioning independently have added a great dimension to the College and have added lustre to the Institution.