Michael Ringrose, Chief executive, People with Disabilities in Ireland (PwDI).
Personal/family: Married to Oonagh. Three daughters, Eileen, Niamh and Fiona, and one son, Gareth.
What figure from the world of medicine/ health do you most admire?
Freddie Wood, who performed double bypass surgery on me and, thank God, 16 years later, I'm still steaming along. Perhaps gone beyond the "sell-by-date" but appreciating every day of it.
What other career might you have chosen?
I had often thought that I would have enjoyed a career in politics.
If you were appointed Minister for Health, what would be your first priority?
To put in place a co-ordinated, structured system for the delivery of quality services to people with all disabilities nationwide and somebody to be held accountable at the end of the day.
Do you have a phobia/what is your greatest fear?
The only fear I have is of dying before I complete some aims. I have some "miles to go before I sleep".
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
I was a patient of Freddie Woods and Prof Michael Walshe and, while I hope I was a reasonable one, I found it difficult to remain idle for almost six months.
What three books would you bring to a desert island?
Wellsprings by Anthony de Melo, Letters from Lord Chesterfield to his Son and Others and Anam Cara by John O'Donoghue .
Have you a fail-safe method of dealing with stress?
Yes, I read verses from Wellsprings. For example, here are a few favourite lines relating to awareness and acceptance that lend perspective:
"Yes to what you are today
to the kind of person God has made you,
the kind of person you have become.
Yes to the whole of your past.
Yes to what lies in store for you in future."
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
Prime Time on RTÉ 1 and, for humour, The Vicar of Dibley. I enjoy LyricFM and listening to, though not always understanding, Radió na Gaeltachta.
If you did not live in Ireland, where would you choose to spend the rest of your life?
France without doubt.
Summarise yourself in 12 words.
Intuitive, perceptive, reasonably tolerant, realistic, pragmatic, artistic, loyal, good sense of humour.
Do you use alternative medicine/therapies?
Occasionally. Aromatherapy is good for the soul and I have a great respect for yoga.
Who or what makes you laugh?
Myself mostly and I always enjoy Dave Allen who, sadly, passed away recently.