The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) said goodbye to a long-serving member of staff as Patrick Connolly retired from his post of Building Superintendent in the RCSI Smurfit Building in Beaumont Hospital, after 25 years' service to the College.

Pat Connolly joined RCSI as a porter in 1988 from the Irish Army where he was in the Medical Core. As a member of the Irish Army, Pat served in a number of countries overseas, including the Congo Republic and Lebanon. Pat spent 13 years in RCSI St Stephen's Green before moving to Beaumont Hospital in 2001. Pat is a well-liked character and will be missed by all of his colleagues, both in Beaumont and St. Stephen's Green.

A reception for Pat was held in TR4 on the 1st floor of the Education and Research Centre (ERC) at Beaumont Hospital.

Prof Gerry McElvaney, Professor of Medicine, RCSI led the tributes to Pat by saying, "It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Pat over the past 17 years. His attitude and enthusiasm for the job in hand is exemplary. I will be sad to see him go but I wish him all the best in his retirement."

Professor Cathal Kelly, CEO/Registrar, RCSI added, "I know there are very few members of staff as popular across the whole organisation as Pat. Joining RCSI seemed like a natural progression as Pat came to us from the army's medical core. Not many people may know that he actually had an affiliation to the College before he was on the payroll, as occasionally Pat stepped in as a model during surgical and medical examinations when he was still in the army. I can only thank him for all of his hard work and commitment to the RCSI over the past 25 years and wish him every success in his retirement."