Dr Garret Fitzgerald, former Taoiseach of Ireland, officially launched the book Irish Surgeons and Surgery in the 20th Century by Professor Barry O’Donnell at RCSI on the evening of Thursday, 2 October.

Combining scholarship and a delightfully personal perspective, this is a definitive history of surgeons and surgery in Ireland during the 20th century.

At the heart of the book are more than 400 brief biographies of surgeons who worked during the past century. The book also treats the evolution of the lifestyle of the surgeon, and the variety of social and professional experience encountered. 

Professor Barry O’Donnell was born in Cork and graduated from University College Cork (UCC). After postgraduate training in London and Boston, he practiced paediatric surgery in Dublin for 37 years. He is a Past President of RCSI and has been President of the Irish, British and Canadian Medical Associations. He is launching his book across Ireland and also in the United States.