Veterinarian anaesthetic mask. The brown leather cone-shaped mask is lined with brown felt and has a brown textile collar on top of leather. Mask also has leather straps and buckles on the sides, and metal tube with adjustment screw near one end. F:2003.64. Photo: National Museum of Ireland

Antique veterinary objects go on display at Mayo museum

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A UNIQUE display of antique veterinary objects has gone on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Turlough Park, Castlebar.

In the early 2000s, the National Museum of Ireland and the Veterinary Department of Mayo County Council formed a partnership to establish a collection of veterinary objects in the Irish Folklife Collection.

Cathal Walsh was veterinary officer with Mayo County Council from 1991 until his retirement in 2005. During his time working in Mayo, Cathal, and his colleagues in the Veterinary Department, Cathy Waddell and Cathy Gallagher, established a collection of antique objects dealing with animal husbandry and veterinary science. Those objects were donated to the National Museum, and a selection are now on display.

The display provides visitors with a closer look at the work of vets in Ireland in times gone by. The objects on display include a trephine, which was used to make circular openings in the lower part of a horse’s head to enable the sinuses to be flushed of pus, an anaesthetic mask used on animals for the administration of chloroform prior to surgery, and a bone saw.

Veterinarian trephining kit. Trephine for treatment of sinusitis in horses. The long silver-coloured metal brace has a fluted oval handle and three adjustable knobs. There is a circular serrated blade at the base of instrument. F:2003.98.1 Photo by National Museum of Ireland

Welcoming the new display of the objects, Noel Campbell, assistant keeper at the National Museum of Ireland at Turlough Park, said: “This is a fascinating collection of objects, and we are delighted to exhibit a selection. We are grateful to the members of the Veterinary Department of Mayo County Council for establishing the collection which today presents us with some insight into the day-to-day practices and challenges of vets working across Ireland down through the last century.”

To mark the opening of the new exhibition, the National Museum is hosting a talk with Dr. Michael Doherty at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 7. The talk will explore the fascinating history of animal care in Ireland and draw on Dr. Doherty’s recent research to present ‘The Folklore of Cattle and Sheep through an Ethnoveterinary Lens’. See museum.ie for booking details.

Antique Veterinary Objects is on display now on Level B of the exhibition galleries at the National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park. Admission is free and no booking is required.

See www.museum.ie for further details.

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