The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Emer Costello, will visit RCSI this evening to celebrate 200 years of the College on St Stephen’s Green.

A reception will be held for RCSI staff, student representatives and businesses based on St Stephen’s Green to commemorate the anniversary.

Professor Frank Keane, President of RCSI, said: “For over 200 years, RCSI has been central to the advancement of surgery and medical education in Ireland. From our earliest days we have trained doctors and surgeons who have given exemplary service throughout the world and the advances in surgical procedures that we use today, represent the culmination of centuries of learning and enquiry. Surgery, as well as being our heritage, is fundamental to the delivery of healthcare in Ireland and our responsibilities reach into the training, standards and practice delivery of surgery in Ireland to ensure that safe surgery saves lives.”

RCSI became the sole, legally recognised body representing the science and art of surgery in Ireland in 1784 when it was granted a Charter by King George III. The first meeting of the College took place in the RotundaHospital and in 1810 the College moved to its current site on St Stephen’s Green, a former abandoned Quaker burial ground.

The College has also been the scene of many dramatic events in Irish history, playing a part in the 1916 Easter Rising when Countess Markievicz, with 150 men and 20 women occupied the College for one week and bullet holes from that time are still visible in the stone facade.

Since 1810 approximately 19,000 students have graduated from the College. Famous alumni include Pat O'Callaghan, Irish gold medallist at the 1928 and 1932 Olympic Games; Sir William Wilde, father of Oscar Wilde; Felipe Contepomi - Argentine rugby player; Nada Haffadh, Bahrain's first female minister and Professor Lord Ara Darzi, Parliamentary Under Secretary in the UK Department of Health.

To commemorate the anniversary, the College will host public tours of the College throughout the year. A book on the history of RCSI will be launched in February and a student event will be held in October to celebrate the College’s commitment to volunteerism over the past 200 years.