Cecily Kelleher, Head of UCD School of Public Health and Population Science / Chairwoman of the Women's Health Council
Occupation: Head of UCD School of Public Health and Population Science, chairwoman of the Women's Health Council and a member of the National Council for Bioethics at the Royal Irish Academy.
Personal/family: Married to Antony with two sons, Daniel and Alexander.
What figure from the world of medicine or health do you most admire?
Geoffrey Rose, the epidemiologist and author who taught us that the successful practitioner of preventive medicine by definition must live with the fact that he or she has no grateful patients.
What other career might you have chosen?
Law or English literature.
If you could grant three wishes for the health service, what would they be?
One hundred per cent free and equitable access, 99 per cent successful delivery in primary care and 1 per cent blue-sky technology and treatments for our hospitals for rare but irreducible need.
What is your greatest fear?
That it would all come true.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
Yes, for minor ailments and for babies. It's good to learn how vulnerable it is on the other side of the desk.
When or where are you happiest?
Family holidays and Christmas.
How do you cope with stress?
It depends but the key is discretion to change a stressful situation, if you can't fix it, move on.
What is the trait you most admire in yourself?
Straight-talking and fair-mindedness.
What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
Straight-talking - not everyone likes it.
Do you use alternative or complementary medicine or therapies?
No. I understand the motivation from a holistic perspective but to me the question about any treatment is not whether it is complementary or conventional. If there's objective evidence that it works effectively, I'll take it.
Who or what makes you laugh?
Many people from Woody Allen to the late Dermot Morgan make me laugh, but the place I value a sense of humour most is at work or with friends.
What is your motto?
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, from Shakespeare's sonnet.
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
Horizon or its equivalent. I have a soft spot for soaps too, especially Judging Amy.
What books would you bring to a desert island?
I would go for classics and bring at least one big re-readable Russian novel like Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain, Dora Maar's Life with Picasso, Mozart's letters to his father, the complete works of Hans Christian Anderson, the scientific writings of Stephen Jay Gould, a good DIY book for the dwelling, a tropical plants guide for edibles and one of those new UN rewindable laptops, because I love moving pictures.
(Interview by Fiona Tyrrell)