Finbarr Patrick Kieran Bresnihan (13 March 1944 – 18 July 2010) was an Irish

rheumatologist Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...

and international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. Bresnihan was born in

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

in 1944 and educated at

Gonzaga College Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Irela ...

, Dublin before qualifying as a doctor at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD). He was married with a son and three daughters and died in 2010.

Medical career

After qualifying as a doctor, Bresnihan specialised in

rheumatology Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

in London before working with

Morris Ziff Morris Ziff (November 19, 1913 – August 22, 2005) was a physician, educator and researcher specializing in arthritic and rheumatic disorders, possibly best known for helping discover the rheumatoid factor. Ziff was born in Brooklyn, New York an ...

at the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical School The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

before returning to Ireland to set up a laboratory at the UCD Medical School and

St. Vincent's University Hospital St. Vincent's Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Ollscoile Naomh Uinseann) is a teaching hospital located at Elm Park, south of the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is at the junction of Merrion Road and Nutley Lane opposite the Merrion Centre, Dublin, Merrion ...

. During his career he wrote a number of papers, two books and contributions to works on rheumatology. In 1991 UCD created a chair of Rheumatology for Bresnihan and in 2009 he was honoured as a "Master" by the

American College of Rheumatology The American College of Rheumatology (ACR; until 1985 called American Rheumatism Association) is an organization of and for physicians, health professionals, and scientists that advances rheumatology through programs of education, research, advocacy ...

Rugby career

Bresnihan was capped twenty-five times as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for Ireland between 1966 and 1971. He scored six tries for Ireland.Griffiths, page 3:38-3:40 Bresnihan made two

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

tours. He was called up as a replacement for the

1966 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand In 1966 the British Lions toured Australia and New Zealand. The Lions won the two test matches against but lost all four internationals against the All Blacks. Overall the tourists played thirty-five matches, winning twenty-three, losing nin ...

but did not play in any of the tests. He was also selected for the

1968 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1968 the British Lions toured South Africa. The tour was not successful in terms of international results, the Lions losing the Test series against South Africa by three matches to nil, with the other match drawn. The Lions won 15 of their ...

and played in three of the tests against . He played club rugby for

Lansdowne Lansdowne or Lansdown may refer to: People * Lansdown Guilding (1797–1831), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines naturalist and engraver *Fenwick Lansdowne (1937–2008), Canadian wildlife artist * George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne (1666–1735) ...

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

, and

Dallas Harlequins The Dallas Harlequins Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Dallas, Texas. The Harlequins formerly played in the Super League, but now play in the Texas Rugby Union Men's Division 1. The Harlequins won the 1984 USA National Championsh ...

, and represented the

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

provincial team and the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

invitiational team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bresnihan, Barry 1944 births 2010 deaths Alumni of University College Dublin Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Ireland international rugby union players Irish rheumatologists Irish rugby union players Lansdowne Football Club players London Irish players Munster Rugby players People educated at Gonzaga College Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Waterford (city) University College Dublin R.F.C. players