Ronan Glynn is an Irish public health physician and

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

who served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Ireland from October 2018 to May 2022. He previously served as Acting Chief Medical Officer of Ireland from July to October 2020 and was Head of the Health Protection Unit at the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

Medical career

Glynn graduated from

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 ...

, where he obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Physiotherapy, in 2002. He completed a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

in 2007, a PhD in Surgical Oncology from

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

in 2013 and a

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

Masters in Public Health (MPH) from University College Dublin in 2015. Between 2008 and 2010, Glynn was Research Registrar at the National Breast Cancer Research Institute (NBCRI) in University College Hospital Galway. Between 2010 and 2014, he was Senior House Officer and Specialist Registrar at the

Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...

(

Otolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

). Between 2014 and 2018, he was Specialist Registrar and Specialist in Public Health Medicine at the HSE. Glynn holds a diploma in personal leadership and executive coaching. He has been a member of the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

since 2012, a Fellow of the ''International Society for Quality in Healthcare'' (ISQUA) since 2013, and a Member of the

Royal College of Physicians of Ireland The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), ( ga, Coláiste Ríoga Lianna na hÉireann) is an Irish professional body dedicated to improving the practice of general medicine and related medical specialities, chiefly through the accredit ...

(Faculty of Public Health Medicine), since 2017. Glynn was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer in October 2018. He became a regular presence at the daily COVID-19 press conferences, along with the CMO, Dr Tony Holohan, and made multiple media appearances following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

's emergence and its subsequent arrival in Ireland. On 2 July 2020, Holohan made an announcement that he would be taking a hiatus from his position as Chief Medical Officer to care for his family as his wife entered

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

; Glynn was subsequently appointed Acting Chief Medical Officer until 5 October 2020. On 10 May 2022, the

announced that Glynn would resign at the end of May to take up a role with consultancy firm EY.

Media

Aside from the frequent pandemic press conferences, he gave a televised interview to '' The Late Late Show'' on 4 September 2020.

Recognition

He was awarded Best Doctor of The Year by

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

in 2020.

Personal life

In September 2013, Glynn married Carla O'Brien, newsreader for

RTÉ News and Current Affairs (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

, and they have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glynn, Ronan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Irish physiotherapists Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Galway Department of Health (Ireland) Members of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Place of birth missing (living people)