Sylvia Meehan, President and founder member of the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament.
Personal/family:My husband Denis died in 1969. I have five adult children and seven beautiful grandchildren.
What figure from the world of medicine or health do you most admire?
My GP Terasa Coll. She is very skilled and very busy and yet is an insightful listener to any patient worry or query.
What other career might you have chosen?
I'd have loved to have been a trained gardener.
If you could grant three wishes for the health service, what would they be?
I would establish a health service that delivers treatment and care based on the needs rather than incomes of patients and their families. I would remove all age discriminatory barriers in the health service and develop ancillary social inclusion facilities, such as transport and community facilities, which are a pre-requisite for good public health.
What is your greatest fear?
To be cast aside on a desert island.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
Yes. Of course I was a good patient.
When or where are you happiest?
With laughter and the company of friends and family.
How do you cope with stress?
I phone a friend.
What is the trait you most admire in yourself?
My ability to enjoy life.
What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
Sitting and doing nothing.
Do you use alternative or complementary medicine or therapies?
Yes, I use them in a haphazard way.
Who or what makes you laugh?
The human comedy.
What is your motto?
"Begin again". It's from a Brendan Kennelly poem and is the theme of this year's Bealtaine Arts Festival.
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
I don't watch TV much but I really enjoyed a programme on Irish landscape artists that was on TV recently. I also enjoy O'Brien on Songon RTÉ Radio 1.
What books would you bring to a desert island?
I would not be there by choice, but I would bring the poems of Emily Dickinson, If This is a Manand If Not Now, When?by Primo Levi and something by Maeve Binchy.