Why Clonmel is surgeon's kind of town

PETER Murchan (43) is a consultant surgeon, specialising in gastro-intestinal medicine, at the South Tipperary General Hospital. Originally from Co Meath, he graduated from UCD and worked at three Dublin hospitals (St James's, Meath and the Adelaide) before going to Chicago in 1989.

Following a two-year stint at the Loyola University Hospital, he moved to England and the University of Leeds Hospital. In 1997 he accepted a job in Clonmel and returned to Ireland.

His hectic schedule includes three consecutive days a week leading a team of 12 staff in three gleaming new theatres where up to 25 patients a day undergo surgery. On non-operating days there's a busy round of clinics, ward visits and teaching. He also spends a few days every month in Dublin where he teaches surgical trainees at the Royal College of Surgeons. He exudes energy, inspires confidence and is justifiably proud of the facilities at Clonmel hospital which has 700 staff, 247 beds, and has undergone a €30 million transformation.

Murchan and his wife, Maire, have three children (Liam, 12, Siobháin, 9, and Patrick, 7) who all attend the "excellent" local Gaelscoil. He spends much of his free time bringing his children to sports events and is especially proud that his son Liam "played for the local under-11 soccer team which represented Ireland in the Danone Nations Cup - finishing 14th in the world". He describes Clonmel as "a fabulous town - progressive and forward-thinking"; enjoys the "beautiful countryside of south Tipperary"; says the quality of life is very good and finds that "Tipperary people are very friendly". He's glad to be back in Ireland and has no regrets about leaving America or England though he enjoyed his time in both places.

When he first came to Clonmel 10 years ago, Murchan says he "knew nothing about Tipperary except that it had a great hurling team and was a centre of racing".

His fondness for both sports helped him to integrate quickly into county life. During the reign of manager Nicky English, he was team doctor to Tipperary's senior hurlers and had the pleasure of watching them win an All-Ireland final in 2001. Professional commitments meant he had to "retire" from this role after a five-year stint.

Despite living beside the racecourse, he doesn't get to the races as often as he'd like but Murchan is a member of the Hannigan's Bar Racing Syndicate. The Cashel-based group owns Sir Overbury, trained by Danny O'Connell in Bansha.

The horse won three races last year but is currently injured, having snapped tendons.

But a reliable (medical) source says the prognosis is good, the patient is expected to make a full recovery and readers of The Irish Times who fancy a flutter might care to note the name.