John Feely MD, FRCPI
Appointed 1 July 1983.
John Feely MD, FRCPI was born on the 20th of November 1947 in County Limerick. He is the son of Dr. Michael Feely and Mary (née McMahon). His older brother Morgan was a clinical pharmacologist. Feely was educated at St Munchin’s College in Limerick. Later, he attended University College Dublin (UCD), studying medicine and graduated in 1971. He completed an internship at Mater Misericordiae Hospital (MMH) in Dublin. He was awarded his Honours Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology in 1973 and received his MD in 1979. He began his academic career as a tutor and assistant lecturer at UCD and MMH. He also trained in Dundee, Scotland at the Ninewells Hospital and at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
He was appointed Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Trinity College Dublin in 1983, being the 12th person to head the department. He built a department with a strong reputation in teaching and research. Throughout his academic career, he published over 300 research papers in top journals and became a leading authority on pharmacoeconomics, drug metabolism, drug safety and hypertension.
He was a Consultant Physician at Dr Steeven’s Hospital and then at St James’s Hospital following its closure. At St. James’s, he established model hypertension and lipid clinics and developed high standards and protocols for patient care. He founded Ireland’s first Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT) training scheme. Feely was also the Chair of the Irish Blood Pressure Council and Heartwatch Implementation Group, while also playing a key role in the establishment of the National Medicines Information Centre, the Centre for Advanced Clinical Therapeutics and the National Pharmacoeconomics Unit. Additionally, he served on the National Drugs Advisory Board, the Irish Heart Foundation board and the Health Research Board.
He was a Registrar and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, organising the colleges tercentenary exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland in 1992. He was also a member of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and joined the British Pharmacological Society in 1980.
He is remembered as a gifted teacher and communicator who was highly respected by students, colleagues and patients. He mentored many who went on to become leaders in Clinical Pharmacology. He was known for his integrity, humility, kindness and wit and was said to be considered the ‘physician of choice’ among peers for personal and family care. He was deeply devoted to his wife Deirdre, who he married in 1972 and his four children, Claire, Michael, Robert and John. John Freely died on the 10th of June, 2009 at the age of 61.
The Professor John Feely Medal, awarded by the Irish Association of Pharmacologists, commemorates the diverse and lasting contributions made by John Feely to the development of Pharmacology and Therapeutics both in Ireland and internationally.
Image from the Irish Association of Pharmacologists website
