Ravi Lucca Oliveira Santos Credit: Rip.ie
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17 Jan 2026
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17 Jan 2026
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Anaesthetic mask used to administer chloroform to animals prior to surgery.
A unique display of antique veterinary objects has gone on public view at the National Museum of Ireland at Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo, offering visitors a glimpse into the history of animal care and veterinary practice in Ireland.
The exhibition stems from a partnership formed in the early 2000s between the National Museum of Ireland and the veterinary department of Mayo County Council to establish a collection of veterinary material within the Irish Folklife Collection.
Cathal Walsh, who served as veterinary officer with Mayo County Council from 1991 until his retirement in 2005, played a central role in building the collection. Along with colleagues in the council’s veterinary department, Cathy Waddell and Cathy Gallagher, he assembled a range of antique objects connected with animal husbandry and veterinary science. The items were later donated to the National Museum, and a selection is now on display in Castlebar.
The exhibition provides visitors with a closer look at the work of vets in Ireland in times gone by. Among the objects on display is a trephine, a tool used to make circular openings in the lower part of a horse’s head to allow the sinuses to be flushed of pus. Other items include an anaesthetic mask used to administer chloroform to animals prior to surgery, as well as a bone saw.
Noel Campbell, assistant keeper at the National Museum of Ireland at Turlough Park, described the exhibition as a “fascinating collection of objects”.
“We are delighted to exhibit a selection,” Campbell said. “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 exhibition, the museum will host a public talk with Dr Michael Doherty at 3pm on Saturday, February 7. The talk will explore the history of animal care in Ireland and draw on Dr Doherty’s recent research.
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