Rachael Scally
Biography
I am originally from Derbyshire in England and moved to Ireland in 2001. I received my BA in Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin in 2012.
Research
'Improvement and Curiosity at the Dublin Medico-Philosophical Society, 1756-1784'
The Dublin Medico-Philosophical Society was founded in 1756 in order to carry out 'medical, natural and philosophical inquiries'. The Society was an 'improving society' which desired to bring material and social prosperity to Ireland. Hence, it was concerned with reports and discussion of improving subjects, such as the curative properties of Irish plants and springs. However, it was also fascinated by the study of natural curiosities, such as monstrous births, as well as by the Lisbon earthquake.
My research uses the little explored minutes and papers of the Society to examine their work on these seemingly divergent themes. Questions to be explored include: Did the Society participate in an Irish Enlightenment or Republic of Letters? What can the Society's work tell us about eighteenth-century Irish medicine? What was the function of reports on, and displays of, curious phenomena within the Society?