An Appreciation: Prof Ian Temperley

Ian Temperley was born in 1931 in the small town of Bacup, East Lancashire, described by English Heritage as “the best preserved cotton town in England”.

In 1939 his father was appointed manager of a shoe factory in Westport, Co Mayo where the young Ian went to school to the Christian Brothers. From there he went as a boarder to Wesley College, then on St Stephen’s Green, Dublin.

After the Leaving Certificate, having toyed with the idea of engineering, he entered Trinity College Dublin to study medicine. When he qualified he endured a restless period of a few years of medical positions in England and back in Ireland. He finally settled down when he was appointed to a junior post in the school of pathology at Trinity. He remained a member of the school of medicine in Trinity for the rest of his working life.

Ian specialised in haematology, completed an MD degree, FRCPI, FRCPath and in due course he was elected a fellow of TCD. He was also an active consultant haematologist. He invested a great deal of himself in the care of his patients.

In 1971 he established the National Haemophiliac Treatment Centre and became its first medical director. He pioneered bone marrow transplant in Ireland and served two terms as dean of Trinity’s medical school.

In 1996 he was president of the World Federation of Haemophilia for the duration of its meeting in Dublin. From 2002 to 2009 he served as chairman of the accreditation commission on colleges of medicine, which involved him in extensive travel in the United States and the Caribbean.

Ian retired in 1995. In 1999 the Lindsay Tribunal was established to look into matters “of urgent importance relating to the infection with hepatitis C and HIV of persons with haemophilia”. Ian knew he would be a key witness. When asked by a friend how he would handle it, he replied: “I will simply tell the truth”, and he did. He was on the stand on 24 days in all. The tribunal report said: “Professor Temperley displayed considerable understanding and forbearance in his evidence”, and described him as having been “remarkably honest” and “neither evasive nor defensive”. On his last day of giving evidence as he turned to stand down the tribunal legal teams gave him a standing ovation.

Not all of Ian’s busy life was work. His great interest was European history.

He read the six unabridged volumes of Gibbon's Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire six times. He had strong views and could be tetchy in response to what he considered unfair criticism of any of his heroes of history. He was fascinated by early Christian mosaics. After he retired he registered for and completed a thesis on "Mosaics in the north hall of the basilica of Aquileia" for which he was awarded an MLitt by Trinity.

At one period of his life he painted in oils as a competent amateur. In retirement, among other things, he wrote a short history of England just for his grandchildren when he discovered that they did not know the full sweep of English history. He is survived by his wife Joyce, sons David and Richard and their families.

Rev Patrick Semple