It was established in 1784 as the national body for the surgical branch of medicine in Ireland, with a role in supervision of training, and as of 2021 provides a broad range of medical education in multiple countries.

[5] RCSI's main campus is situated on St. Stephen's Green and York Street in central Dublin and incorporates schools of medicine, pharmacy and biomolecular sciences, physiotherapy, population health, dentistry and nursing and midwifery.

[citation needed] In 1446, the Barber-Surgeons' guild was incorporated by a royal decree of Henry VI, becoming the first medical corporation in Britain or Ireland.

The governing body, including the first President, Samuel Croker-King, and William Dease, first professor of surgery, met in the boardroom of the Rotunda Hospital for the first time on 2 March.

The RCSI's first location, at the corner of York Street, was acquired in September 1805, with additional land at Glover's Alley bought in 1809.

[9] During the 1916 Rising, the main college building on St Stephen's Green was occupied by Irish Citizen Army forces, led by Commandant Michael Mallin and Countess Markievicz.

[11] During the period 2014 – 2018, RCSI-affiliated researchers collaborated with over 2,100 international academic and industry institutions producing over 2,900 co-authored publications.

The institution has a structure of Faculties and Schools, some parts of which focus more on undergraduate studies, some more on post-graduate and continuing professional education.

Strategic research themes include: RCSI is a culturally diverse, international organisation with alumni presence in almost every country in the world.

[13] It states that it values innovation, excellence, independence, academic freedom, diversity, tolerance and community and that it champions a patient-centric approach to its activities and endeavours.

Students at RCSI are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities that promote service in the community and cultural awareness.

80% of the student population is from outside the European Union, with a significant portion coming from North America, the Middle East and Asia.

Established in 1995, medical students may choose to complete their pre-clinical studies at either UCD or RCSI in Dublin, before continuing the clinical aspect of their degree in Penang.

Also in Malaysia, Perdana University Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (PU-RCSI) was established in 2011, aiming to host up to 100 students per year on its 5-year undergraduate medical programme, the first cohort to graduate in 2016.

[24] For students at the home institution of the RCSI, options may be taken abroad as a result of collaborative agreements with other medical schools around the world.

The RCSI was granted independent degree-awarding status by the Irish government in 2010, which also allowed the then college, now university, to award honorary degrees.