Colin Kerr: Editor, Irish Medical Times.
Personal/family: Married to Cathy.
What figure from the world of medicine/health do you most admire?
GPs, consultants, NCHDs, public health doctors and other health professionals do extraordinary work every day, so it would be unfair to pick out any one individual.
What other career might you have chosen?
Centre forward for Manchester City.
If you were appointed Minister for Health, what would be your first priority?
Appoint a health ombudsman and give the office real powers to deal with complaints.
Do you have a phobia/what is your greatest fear?
I try not to worry too much.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
Yes and yes.
What three books would you bring to a desert island?
Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, FSL Lyons's Ireland Since The Famine, Bob Woodward's The Secret Man.
Have you a fail-safe method of dealing with stress?
Walking our two Labradors, Max and Dino.
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
The West Wing, 24.
If you did not live in Ireland, where would you choose to spend the rest of your life?
Berlin.
Summarise yourself in 12 words:
They change from day to day, but I try to keep happy.
Do you use alternative medicine/therapies?
No.
Who or what makes you laugh?
Dylan Moran, Yes Minister, Fawlty Towers, Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show.
(In interview with Dr Muiris Houston)