Michael O'Connor died recently, aged 88, after a very full and rewarding life as a general practitioner in Sligo. Michael was well loved by his patients and highly thought of by his colleagues, as evidenced by the huge crowd who came to bid him farewell.
He was born in Larkhill, Beltra, where his father had a substantial business. His father died at the age of 36 when Michael was one year old. His mother died the following year, aged only 35. He and his sister, Anna, were made wards of court and given to the care of their auntie "Mac" in Finure. He attended High Park National School and later St Muradach's College in Ballina. He was very proficient at Gaelic football and played in the Connacht senior football final in 1934. It is alleged that the referee continued to play extra time until the opposing team, St Jarlath's of Tuam, took the lead, and then blew the final whistle.
Michael graduated in medicine from UCD in 1941. He emigrated to England and held a succession of posts there over the next five years. He was particularly interested in respiratory medicine, especially tuberculosis, and published many articles on this subject in medical journals.
He returned to marry in 1948 and started up in general practice on The Mall, Sligo. Diagnostic facilities were very limited at the time and Michael was at the forefront of his colleagues using a microscope to diagnose diseases of the blood and urinary tract. He also possessed a fluoroscope, which was unheard of at the time, to aid in the diagnosis of respiratory disease. He was appointed a District Medical Officer in 1951 and moved to Wine Street the following year. (He eventually moved to a purpose-built health centre in 1991.) In 1967 he visited Sweden and Denmark as part of a Council of Europe fellowship. The subject of his fellowship was "Epidemiology of Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema in Scandinavian countries".
Michael was very popular and took a great interest in sport. In 1956 he was elected captain of Co Sligo golf club at Rosses Point. He was later elected president of the club in 1979, 1980 and 1981. In 1970 he was elected Chairman of the Sligo Race Committee, a post he held for six years. In his early days of practice he was very active in the Irish Medical Association and was elected to its council. He was also a council member of the Postgraduate Medical Faculty, UCD. He was appointed medical referee under the Workman's Compensation Act and he was medical examiner for several insurance companies. Later he was to publish a whole series of papers on the changing trends in chest disease, asthma and tuberculosis in general practice. Michael obtained an MD for his earlier work and publications relating to tuberculosis. In spite of his busy practice he still found time to be medical officer to St John's Ambulance and the Knights of Malta.
Up to his final illness he took great interest in postgraduate education. In 1995 by popular acclaim he was elected patron of the Co Sligo General Practitioners Society, an honour he richly deserved. No annual dinner of the society was complete without a few words of cheer and encouragement from Michael. He had a great sense of humour, he had words at will for all occasions and would have made a great politician. He had tremendous loyalty to his colleagues and was always there to give a helping hand. His funeral was a celebration of a life well spent and a job well done. He will be missed.
His wife, Maureen, died in 1990 and he is survived by his sons Don, Conor, Michael, Geoffrey, Gerald and Dáithí.
P.J.H.