Dr David McGrath, director of college health service at Trinity College Dublin.
Personal/family:Married to Siobhan with three sons.
What figure from the world of medicine or health do you most admire?
On a personal basis I admire my first mentor, Gerry Mulcahy, consultant surgeon in Bantry, who was a single-handed practitioner in west Cork for many years. Also on a personal level I admire a colleague from Edinburgh, Dr Bill Donovan, for being a great source of inspiration to all the practitioners in the university.
What other career might you have chosen?
A vet - it was a last minute decision, using a change-of-mind CAO form, to become a doctor.
If you could grant three wishes for the health service, what would they be?
I would ensure that all students have a medical card. I find it bizarre that adults from the age of 18-25 continue to be assessed on their parents' income. I would also continue the work of David Thomas and Sinead O'Brien in progressing the development of college health services at Trinity. Finally, I would see that an adequate number of modern well-staffed nursing home beds are created in the community.
What is your greatest fear?
Illness in my children.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
I was a patient for short while with a back injury and in general I took the advice of the experts.
When or where are you happiest?
Having time with my family and watching my boys play football.
How do you cope with stress?
I play golf and I get free psychotherapy from my wife, who is a consultant psychiatrist.
What is the trait you most admire in yourself?
I am decisive.
What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
If I am not interested in a particular topic I tend to procrastinate and put it on the long finger.
Do you use alternative or complementary medicine or therapies?
I use acupuncture and I go to a chiropractor.
Who or what makes you laugh?
Billy Connolly and politicians jumping on the health bandwagon when really the problem is with core infrastructure.
What is your motto?
Take dead aim - it's a motto for golf and life.
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
I love watching sport. I really enjoy Fawlty Towers and Prime Time. On radio I loved Home Truths by the late John Peel.
What books would you bring to a desert island?
Flann O'Brien's Third Policeman and Dalkey Archive. A collection of Ian Rankin to remind me of Edinburgh and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.
In conversation with Fiona Tyrrell