RCSI conferred more than 170 healthcare professionals with postgraduate awards at a conferring ceremony in the College. In surgery, these awards included Fellowships of RCSI in General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, Trauma & Orthopaedic and Ophthalmology; Membership in ENT and Ophthalmology and a Diploma in Otolaryngology. Fellowship Ad Eundem was awarded to Hadi Shwaish Al-Khafaji, Michael Larvin, Jeremiah Thomas Martin and Dhananjaya Sharma.

In Dentistry, the awards included Intercollegiate Speciality Fellowship Examination in Dental Public Health & Orthodontics; Fellowship; Membership; Member in General Dental Surgery (MGDS) and Diploma of Primary Care Dentistry (DPCD). Fellowship Ad Eundem was awarded to Anthony F. Markus.

Fellowships of the Faculty of Radiologists, Faculty of Sports & Exercise Medicine and Membership of the Faculty of Sports & Exercise Medicine were awarded on the evening. Fellowships of the Faculty of Radiologists Ad Eundem were awarded to Gavin Briggs, Mazen El Bassiouni, Nina Marshall, Sale Ogbobi and Frederik Vernimmen. Fellowship Ad Eundem of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery were awarded to John Adams, Susan Moran and Catherine O'Neill.

Mr Declan Magee, Vice-President of RCSI, said: "I would like to congratulate all of you here this evening on your achievements and on reaching this important and exciting stage in your careers and training. While those of you conferred today could be regarded as a somewhat disparate group, with rather different areas of expertise & practice, what you share is that you are all clinicians, with the patient always at the centre of your focus."

"Even in these troubled times, when the future seems uncertain and sometimes unattractive and when it would be easy to be despondent about your career prospects, I believe the answer is to continue to strive for clinical excellence and the rewards and professional fulfilment will follow," Mr Magee continued.

RCSI plays a prominent role in the provision of postgraduate education in the medical and healthcare sciences, both in Ireland and overseas. The College actively promotes continuing professional education and is increasingly successful in attracting a growing body of postgraduate students, who bring with them a substantial body of varied professional experience, gained both in Ireland and internationally. For almost 230 years this Institution has been about setting the highest standards in education and training to ensure its trainees are educated, mentored and tutored to the highest possible standard.