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Deans and Directors

We are proud to have some of the most experienced professionals in the medical world as the Deans and Directors of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland.

 

Meet Our Deans and Chairs

Headshot of Dr Sheelagh O’Brien, Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine at RCPI

Dr Sheelagh O’Brien

Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine

Dr Sheelagh O’Brien is the Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine.

She is also Managing Director of Corporate Health Ireland (CHI Dublin).  She graduated from University College Galway in 1988 and completed BST in General Internal Medicine in Galway then completed HST in General Practice in the Mid-West Scheme.  She is a Specialist in Occupational Medicine since 2001. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and a Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, RCPI.

Sheelagh has experience across a wide spectrum of industries including local authority services, financial and professional organisations, manufacturing, pharma industry and healthcare. Special interests include shift work and the ageing worker’s health, work related psychological issues and the emergency response services.

Contact: fom@rcpi.ie

Headshot of Dr Judith Meehan, Dean of the Faculty of Paediatrics at RCPI

Dr Judith Meehan

Dean of the Faculty of Paediatrics

Dr Judith Meehan is a Paediatrician and Assistant Professor in Paediatrics at Trinity College Dublin. She graduated from the University of Galway in 1992 and was awarded a CSCST by RCPI following the completion of her paediatric and neonatal training in Ireland. She furthered her paediatric training in Melbourne, Australia at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Medical Centre. Following her return to Ireland, she was appointed as a lecturer in paediatrics at Trinity College and clinically in the paediatric endocrinology and diabetes department at CHI in Tallaght. 

Dr Meehan has extensive experience in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, clinical practice and research. She graduated with an MD from Trinity College in 2006 - having conducted research on the efficacy and safety of growth hormone in children with Prader Willi Syndrome in Ireland. She is a member of many national and international associations. 

In addition to becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 2012, Dr Meehan was elected to the Board of the Faculty of Paediatrics in 2016. She served as the honorary secretary of the Faculty and as convenor of scientific meetings and educational activities from 2017-2021. 

Contact: paediatrics@rcpi.ie

Headshot of Professor Mary Keogan, Dean of the Faculty of Pathology at RCPI

Professor Mary Keogan

Dean of the Faculty of Pathology

Professor Mary Keogan is Dean of the Faculty of Pathology. As Dean, Prof Mary Keogan is responsible for overseeing all matters of the Faculty with the support of the Faculty Board and Committees. She represents the Faculty on the RCPI Executive Board and on other national and international bodies.

Prof Keogan is the former Clinical Lead for the National Clinical Programme in Pathology, and is currently a consultant clinical immunologist in Beaumont Hospital Dublin.

Prof Keogan studied medicine at University College Dublin, undertook postgraduate medical training in Dublin and specialist training in immunology in Cambridge in the UK, and as a consultant immunologist in Papworth NHS Trust, developed a specialised clinical immunology service.

Since returning to Dublin, Prof Keogan has developed a busy clinical and laboratory immunology service in Beaumont Hospital and is medical director of the National Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Service for Solid Organ Transplantation. Research interests include optimisation of transplantation outcomes and improving clinical effectiveness in the use of diagnostic tests.

Contact: pathology@rcpi.ie

Headshot of Professor Cecily Kelleher, Dean of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine at RCPI

Professor Cecily Kelleher

Dean of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine

Professor Cecily Kelleher is Chair of Public Health Medicine & Epidemiology at University College Dublin (UCD). She has been the Principal of the College of Health and Agricultural Sciences at UCD since 2015. She previously served as Dean and Head of the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science.

Professor Kelleher is also a member of the Royal Irish Academy. She served as Chair of the Covid-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel for the report to the Minister for Health on the examination of measures to 2021. Her main areas of research are on lifecourse epidemiology and cardiovascular disease, childhood obesity, Traveller health, and the public health impacts of tobacco smoke.

Contact: FPHM@rcpi.ie

Headshot of Professor Edward McKone, Dean of the Institute of Medicine at RCPI

Professor Edward McKone

Dean of the Institute of Medicine

Professor Edward McKone is a Consultant Respiratory Physician in St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin and a Clinical Professor in University College Dublin.

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he completed his BST in the Federated Hospital’s SHO Scheme and his initial respiratory specialist training including an MD thesis in St. Vincent’s University Hospital. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle followed by 4 years on faculty as an attending physician in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

In 2006, he was appointed to St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin where he is currently a consultant respiratory physician with clinical and research interests in the areas of cystic fibrosis, medical education, epidemiology and clinical trials.

Professor McKone was co-NSD in Respiratory Medicine from 2015-2019 and Director of Education and Training in the Institute of Medicine from 2019-2024. He is Co-Director of the Irish Clinician Educator Track (ICET).

 

Contact: DeanofInstituteofMedicine@rcpi.ie

Headshot of Professor Sam Coulter-Smith, Chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists at RCPI

Professor Sam Coulter-Smith

Chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Professor Sam Coulter-Smith is the Chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and is a consultant in the Rotunda since 2002. During this time, he developed a special interest in the area of infection in pregnancy. He was also instrumental in expanding the diabetes service at the hospital and has a big interest in complications of early pregnancy. He has an interest in gynaecology, particularly familial ovarian cancer and pelvic floor surgery.

Prof Coulter-Smith was Master of the Rotunda Hospital from January 2009 to December 2015. During his Mastership, he devoted much of his time to ensuring quality and safety standards were maintained at the Rotunda, and raised the profile of maternity services onto the national stage. Professor Coulter-Smith is a clinical professor attached to the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and has a keen interest in training of both undergraduate and postgraduate students. He is a strong advocate for the improvement of maternity services in Ireland. He is also a member of the Women’s Health Council.

Contact: IOG@RCPI.IE

 

Meet Our Directors

Dr Maeve Doyle, Dean of Education and Academic Programmes

Dr Maeve Doyle

Dean of Education and Academic Programmes

Dr Maeve Doyle is a Consultant Microbiologist in the South East Regional Microbiology Laboratory at University Hospital Waterford (UHW). Dr Doyle has made a significant contribution to medical education and training throughout her career. She is Head of Department and Department Lead Consultant in Education and Training at UHW. She is also Clinical Lead for the Trainer Project at RCPI, and Clinical Lead for Postgraduate Education and Training at UHW. 

Dr Doyle previously held the roles of Director of Education and Training, Faculty of Pathology at RCPI and National Specialty Director (NSD) for Clinical Microbiology.  

A Member of the board of the Faculty of Pathology, RCPI, since 2014, and an Officer of the board since 2018, she has been a central figure in the activities and successes of the Faculty during this time. 

Dr Doyle is the Irish representative on Union European of Medical Specialities (UEMS) section Medical Microbiology (MM). She has a key role in the development of the European curriculum in Medical Microbiology and was part of the working group that delivered the pilot European examination in Medical Microbiology in March 2021, and the first European examination in Medical Microbiology in May 2022.  

Headshot of Professor Hilary Hoey, Director of Professional Competence at RCPI

Professor Hilary Hoey

Director of Professional Competence

Professor Hilary Hoey is an Elected Fellow on Council and Director of Professional Competence. She is also Chair of Diabetes Ireland, Professor Emeritus of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Dublin, Trinity College. Professor Hoey is Past Dean of the Faculty of Paediatrics RCPI. She completed her postgraduate training and experience in Dublin, the Hospital for Sick Children Great Ormond Street, the University of San Francisco and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She studied medical education at the University of Dundee.

She is a council member of the European Paediatric Paediatric Association UNEPSA and Chair of the Scientific Committee and Organising Committee European Paediatric Association Biennial Congress 2019. She was President of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) 2013-2014. She received the ESPE Outstanding Clinician Award in 2016 and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Irish Healthcare Awards in 2017.

Professor Hoey has served on many national and international councils, committees, editorial boards and was an external examiner in paediatrics at the University of Cambridge, University of Nottingham, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Dublin, University of Galway, University of Limerick, University of Kuwait and the University of Cairo. Her research interests include diabetes in childhood, incidence of type 1 diabetes, metabolic control and quality of life, growth disorders, obesity and Down Syndrome. She has over 200 peer-reviewed publications. She has been elected as the incoming Vice-President of the EPA (European Paediatric Association).

Contact: directorofprofessionalcompetence@rcpi.ie

Headshot of Professor Brendan Kelly, Dun's Librarian at RCPI

Professor Brendan Kelly

Dun's Librarian

Professor Brendan Kelly is Dun's Librarian and a Fellow of the College. He is a professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin and a consultant psychiatrist at Tallaght Hospital, Dublin. As well as his medical qualifications, Prof Kelly holds a PhD in the history of medicine, and has published extensively on the history of psychiatry, including Hearing Voices: The History of Psychiatry in Ireland (Irish Academic Press, 2016), Custody, Care and Criminality: Forensic Psychiatry and Law in 19th-Century Ireland (History Press Ireland, 2014), Ada English: Patriot and Psychiatrist (Irish Academic Press, 2014) and "He Lost Himself Completely": Shell Shock and its Treatment at Dublin's Richmond War Hospital (1916-19) (Liffey Press, 2014). As Dun's Librarian, Prof Kelly has oversight of the Heritage Centre and is chair of the RCPI Library and Heritage Committee.

Contact: heritagecentre@rcpi.ie

Headshot of Professor Conor O'Keane, Director of Quality and Clinical Care at RCPI

Professor Conor O'Keane

Director of Quality and Clinical Care

Professor Conor O’Keane is the Director of Quality and Clinical Care in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Prof O’Keane has also held the role of Treasurer from 2010-2017 and is a past Dean of the Faculty of Pathology. Prof Conor O’Keane is a Consultant Histopathologist, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin and Associate Clinical Professor of Pathology at University College Dublin. He is a 1981 graduate of University College Dublin Medical School.

He obtained his pathology training at the Mallory Institute of Pathology/Boston University School of Medicine and subsequently was appointed there on staff from 1991-1993. He was Clinical Director of the Mater Hospital from 2009 to 2014. His major interest is quality improvement in medicine, particularly using lean methodologies and is an inaugural graduate of the Diploma in Leadership and Quality in Healthcare from RCPI.

He was the Mater Clinical Director for Quality and Patient Safety from 2014-2018. He also serves as a Director of Bone Bank at Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Pathology and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pathology, RCPI and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (FRCPI). Currently, he is the Chair of the NOCA Governance Board. He has been a member of the Histopathology Working Group since its establishment in 2009.

Contact: College@rcpi.ie