Dublin’s New Medical Museum: €8m Project Showcasing 50,000 Artifacts Planned

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) is moving forward with plans to establish a new medical museum in Dublin, seeking exhibition design firms to develop the project at its Kildare Street headquarters. The proposed museum, expected to open in 2029, will showcase over 50,000 historically significant artifacts, including a padded cell from Grangegorman Asylum, an iron lung, prosthetic legs, and a toothbrush reportedly belonging to Napoleon.

The RCPI, founded in 1654, currently houses a collection of medical and historical items that it aims to make accessible to the public. According to tender documents on the eTenders website, the museum will use objects to tell the story of medicine, targeting non-specialist adults and families with children aged 12 and older. The project has an estimated budget of €8 million, with €3 million allocated by the RCPI and an additional €5 million expected from fundraising.

Works to accommodate the 350sqm museum space in the basement of 6 Kildare Street were approved in 2024. The museum is projected to attract 10,000 visitors annually by its third year of operation. The RCPI has invited qualified exhibition design firms to submit expressions of interest for the project.

In a separate development, a lesser-known Irish connection to the late country music legend Dolly Parton has resurfaced following her passing. Páidí Ó Sé’s Pub in Ventry, County Kerry, shared a memory of Parton’s visit in 1990, when she stopped by the family-run business during a tour of the region with her manager, Walter Hagan. Parton was treated to a night of local music and hospitality, later recalling the experience in a 2020 interview with The Irish Times.

Meanwhile, professional golfer Rory McIlroy, from County Down, narrowly missed securing victory at the BMW Championship in St Louis. Despite a strong start and a high sleep score from fitness tracker Whoop, McIlroy finished third, earning $1.36 million. The Northern Ireland native remains on track to become Ireland’s first sporting billionaire through tournament earnings, endorsements, and investments.

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