This month’s Explore Your Archive theme is #EYAMonsters / #EYAArrachta! We want to see everyone’s archives relating to monsters (and Halloween & Samhain as well!) 🎃👻 Don’t forget to 🏷️ @araireland.bsky.social & @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social in your posts #exploreyourarchive #cuardaighdochartlann

Children's reading room at Walthamstow Library, c.1950. 📷 From VHM collection, available in our Searchroom. @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social @araireland.bsky.social #ExploreYourArchive #EYAEducation

We're delighted to be hosting our next hybrid event with ictiap.ie in Dublin on Fri 17 Oct 2025, featuring four speakers working with trauma in archives: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ara-sfnp-i.... Book online now to attend in person or join us online!

This month’s Explore Your Archive theme is #EYAEducation / #EYAOideachas! We want to see everyone’s archives relating to education/oideachas 🍎📝 Don’t forget to tag 🏷️ @araireland.bsky.social & @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social in your posts #ExploreYourArchive #CuardaighDoChartlann

The Summer edition of the ARA Ireland newsletter is available on the website - www.araireland.ie/newsletters Many thanks to all who contributed to this edition 🌟 @niamhnicharra.bsky.social @erinmck96.bsky.social @lisashortall.bsky.social @tailteeireann.bsky.social @dri.ie @mulibrary.bsky.social

A new month means a new EYA theme! For Lúnasa / August we want to see all archives that you find humorous 😂😆 Don’t forget to tag @araireland.bsky.social and @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social using the hashtags #EYAHumour / #EYAGreann #CuardaighDoChartlann #ExploreYourArchive

Delighted to be taking part in this talk @rcsi.bsky.social with colleagues from the School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences exploring the history of pharmacy, the HCR Pharmaceutical Chemists archive & the innovative work being achieved in the school & wider profession as part of Heritage Week!

This month’s #ExploreYourArchive | #CuardaighDoChartlann theme is #EYANature | #EYADúlra & we want to see all your archives relating to this theme! Don’t forget to 🏷️ @araireland.bsky.social & @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social in your posts & stories! 🌳🌿🍂🌾🍃🍄

From the HCR Pharmaceutical Chemists Archive, this scrapbook (RCSI/HCR/11/04/140) forms part of the Robinson Family’s personal photographic collection. Pictured are their travels in Portugal, Gibraltar, Spain & Algeria #EYATravel #EYATaisteal @araireland.bsky.social @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social

This month’s EYA theme is #EYATravel / #EYATaisteal! We want to see all archives relating to travel 🧳 Tag 🏷️ @araireland.bsky.social & @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social in your posts #explorearchives #CuardaighDoChartlann *Reposted because we noticed the graphic had the ‘h’ cropped out of Meitheamh!

For #InternationalNursesDay here are images from @rcsi.bsky.social Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery Archive showcasing records from RCSI/FoN/08/04 which relate to the Queen’s Institute of District Nursing and the Lady Dudley Nursing Scheme in Ireland during the late 19th & 20th century.

#OTD in May of 1957 the 10th World Health Assembly took place in Geneva. Pictured among those seated below are the Irish delegates Dr. James Deeny, Chief Medical Adviser and T.J. Brady, Assistant Secretary from the Department of Health, Rep. Ireland (RCSI/IP/Deeny/2/3/5/11) @who.int

The ICTIAP will be hosting a webinar on Dealing with Trauma in Archival Collections on Friday 9th May 2025 at 10am. Speakers include @barryhoulihan.bsky.social & Dr Eliza McKee To register please contact [email protected] and include your organisation & role when doing so.

A new month means a new #ExploreYourArchive / #CuardaighDoChartlann theme! For May / Bealtaine we want to see any archives relating to #EYAFunandGames / #EYASpraoilsSpóirt 🧩♟️🎲🫟 Don’t forget to 🏷️ us and @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social in your posts!’

Here we have a pocketbook which contains ‘Description Names and Botanical Sources of Plants used in the Manufacture of Garretts Herbine’ from the HCR Pharmaceutical Chemists collection @rcsilibrary.bsky.social Heritage Collections

The Aibreán / April #CuardaighDoChartlann / #ExploreYourArchive theme is Domhan / Earth! We can’t wait to see what everyone shares! Don’t forget to 🏷️ @araireland.bsky.social & @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social with the hashtags #EYADomhan / #EYAEarth

It’s #WorldTheatreDay 🎭 & why not share some stunning operating theatre images from RCSI Digital Heritage Collections! RCSI/IP/Dickson/03/04/01 is a souvenir photograph album (1894-1898) which includes this fabulous image of Dr. Emily Winifred Dickson conducting an operation 🩸

Today is #WorldTBDay & below is an image of correspondence & other materials which form part of the Deeny Collection (RCSI/IP/Deeny). James A. Deeny (1906-94) was a medical doctor & public health official (Chief Medical Advisor for the Dept. of Health in Ireland, 1944-50; 1954-62)

In a recent episode of @physiciansgallery.bsky.social podcast: ‘Insomnia, Iron & the Itch’ one of the hosts mentions Blaud’s pills, a preparation of iron used to enrich the blood & treat anaemia. Below we have a bottle of Blaud’s pills in the HCR Pharmaceutical Chemists collection RCSI/HCR/04/01/05

Seachtain na Gaeilge: A celebration of Irish language & culture founded in 1902 as part of the Gaelic revival by @cnagaeilge.bsky.social We want to see all material in your collections, in or about the Irish language & on Irish culture between March 1st & 17th! @snagaeilge.bsky.social #SnaG25

The #ExploreYourArchive theme for Márta/March is #EYACeartas/#EYAJustice & we can’t wait to see what everyone shares! Don’t forget to tag us 🏷️ @araireland.bsky.social and @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social #CuardaighDoChartlann

A very romantic diamond ring for #ValentinesDay Admittedly in slightly unromantic x-ray form. This image was taken by James Gifford in 1896 and is one of the first x-rays made in Britain

It’s here!!!! A new favourite to add to the podcasts library alongside @rcpedin.bsky.social Casenotes! Brilliant & fascinating start to @surgeonshall.bsky.social “Beyond the Knife” with a discussion on dissection among other topics with @anatomicalcat.bsky.social! Give it a listen! 🎧 #histmed

The #exploreyourarchive | #cuardaighdochartlann monthly theme for February | Feabhra is #EYALove | #EYAGrá ❤️ We can’t wait to see what everyone shares! @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social

A recent holiday visit to: The Ruins of the Chapel of Bones in Valletta, Malta 🇲🇹 an ossuary which was ravaged during an air raid during WWII & which I first learned about in @evinumen.bsky.social’s article “In Defence of Display….” 🔗 to the text is in the quoted post below ⬇️

Yesterday was #NationalPharmacistDay! And what better way to celebrate than by sharing these images of medicine bottles from the Hayes, Conyngham & Robinson Pharmaceutical Chemists collection & this image of one of HCR’s branches: The Ballsbridge Medical Hall #pharmacy #histmed #irisharchives

Margaret Rachel Huxley was born #OTD in 1855. Her first appointment in 1882 was as Matron of Dublin's National Eye and Ear Infirmary & in 1884 she was appointed Lady Superintendent and Matron of Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital, Dublin. Image Credit: RCSI Heritage Collections ~ RCS/FoN/09/03

Delighted I had the chance to write a blog exploring the history of the Mercer building (a site with over 700 years of medical history in Dublin!) & investigate links in the HCR Pharmaceutical Chemists collection to Mercer’s Hospital & Guinness Brewery! Some fun #histmed research to end the year!

I was delighted to hear mention of Sir Charles Cameron (1830-1921) on the latest episode of Three Castles Burning, Dublin History Podcast hosted by Donal Fallon. Sir Cameron was at various points a Fellow, Professor, President, & historian of RCSI (Image: RCSI/IP/Cameron/2/2)

The maternity ward at Christmas in the Hôpital irlandais de Saint-Lô where there were #Decorations & perhaps a few #Bells hanging from the ceilings and hopefully a #FestiveFeast for all these new mothers! #EYAFestive #ArchiveAdventCalendar #explorearchives @arascot.bsky.social

#EYADoChartlann #EYAYourArchive RCSI Heritage Collections collect, preserve & curate material relating to the history of RCSI & to the development of medicine and surgery in Ireland. I’m so privileged to currently be part of the team & telling some of these stories @araireland.bsky.social #histmed

I just finished reading “In Defence of Display: Regarding Mortality and the Body on View” by @evinumen.bsky.social, Curator of the Old Anatomy Museum, School of Medicine of TCD & it was excellent! It was thought-provoking and entirely fascinating, highly recommend giving it a read (start p.57)!

For #EYAAnimals here is an image of a price list for Horse & Cattle Medicines along with their Uses & Doses which were sold by Hayes, Conyngham & Robinson Pharmaceutical Chemists (1897-1998) @araireland.bsky.social #histmed #historyofpharmacy #explorearchives

At Hayes, Conyngham & Robinson Pharmaceutical Chemists, family was key to the ethos of how the business was run. It also continued to be managed and run by some of the descendants of the original founders until it was sold to Boots in 1998 #EYAFamily #explorearchives @araireland.bsky.social

The Alchemist ✨ at work, perhaps on the #mythological ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ turning base metals into gold? Or creating an elixir of life? From the HCR Pharmaceutical Chemists collection (Image published by Bayer Pharma[?]) #EYAmythology #EYAMiotaseolaíocht @araireland.bsky.social

For #EYAFashion I wanted to share these images from the General Nursing Council for England and Wales’ ‘Instructions with Regard to Uniform and Badge which may be worn by Registered Nurses’ published in 1931 @araireland.bsky.social #nursinghistory #histmed #explorearchives

This book press from the Hayes, Conyngham & Robinson Pharmaceutical Chemists collection is definitely #huge! From the research I’ve done so far it would have been used to copy letters, very useful for Victorian record keeping I would think! #EYAHuge @araireland.bsky.social #explorearchives

#EYATiny A collection of labels for tinctures, medications, general remedies & products sold by Hayes, Conyngham & Robinson Pharmaceutical Chemists (1897/1998), if you zoom in you’ll be able to see just how #tiny some of them are! @araireland.bsky.social #histmed #explorearchives #pharmacy

Some of our medical #EYAHeroes who worked in the Hôpital irlandais de Saint-Lô between 1945/1946. Founding Dean of RCSI Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, Mary Frances Crowley worked as Matron in the hospital & these images form part of a scrapbook in the Faculty’s historic collection (RCSI/FoN/05/02)

Delighted to be taking on the role of Campaigns Officer with the ARA Ireland Committee, after the absolutely brilliant @niamhnicharra.bsky.social It’ll certainly be a new challenge for me but also an opportunity to continue building networks & new professional connections within the heritage sector!

As Chair (and outgoing Campaigns Officer) @niamhnicharra.bsky.social hands the role over to our outgoing Section for New Professionals Rep @erinmck96.bsky.social 🎊 Erin will be taking up the role on December 1st. If interested in joining the committee, we have a vacant @ARAnewprofs role to fill!

The appraisal process! Such an important part of cataloguing any archival collection. Processes such as Macro & Micro Appraisal and Feminist Standpoint Appraisal provide frameworks for some of the many #Decisions archivists have to make! @araireland.bsky.social #EYA2024

It’s always #SpookySeason for this archivist 👻 but back in October I shared some content on other platforms that I hope some might find interesting here on Bluesky! We all know Bram Stoker and his novel #Dracula but who was the other Stoker brother?

On this rainy #ManuscriptMonday I was reminded of my first week working with RCSI Heritage Collections and having the opportunity to see RCSI/MS/97 Practica Magistri Johannis Ardern, a medieval medical manuscript on surgical practice by Master surgeon John Arderne (1307-c.1380)

I absolutely love coming across doodles in the archives✏️ This particular doodle appears to be a teacher, headmistress or maybe a governess? I wonder if they were well liked or not? Thoughts anyone? 🔍

In addition to the Faculty’s celebrations, I also had the chance to write a short blog post about my next collection, Hayes Conyngham and Robinson Pharmaceutical Chemists. One of the most fascinating aspects of the collection at this early stage has been tincture and medicine bottles.

It’s been a busy few weeks for the RCSI Heritage Collections team! On October 30th, the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery celebrated their 50th anniversary & to mark the occasion the following video was commissioned celebrating the life and legacy of its first Dean Mary Frances Crowley.