THE SURGEON responsible for separating formerly conjoined twins Hussein and Hassan Benhaffaf was honoured for his work at an awards ceremony in UCC yesterday.
Edward Kiely was among five graduate students of the college who received awards for outstanding achievement.
He joined fellow recipients including Paul Durcan, Des Bishop, Theo Dorgan, Declan Kidney and Nuala Ní Domhnaill, all honoured since the Alumni Achievement Awards were set up 15 years ago.
Kiely, consultant paediatric surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, specialises in neonatal surgery, paediatric surgical oncology and the separation of conjoined twins.
He led the 14-hour life-threatening operation to separate the “little fighters” in April last year. He graduated from UCC with a degree in medicine in 1968, the youngest of five children who are all Cork medical graduates.
Drawn to paediatrics, Kiely began working as a surgeon at Great Ormond 27 years ago. During that time he has carried out 21 operations to separate conjoined twins, but remained out of the media glare until taking on the case of his fellow Corkonians, the Benhaffafs.
Selected for his outstanding achievement in medicine by the university, Kiely received an Alumni Achievement Award at a ceremony last evening with fellow graduates representing the arts, judiciary and pharmaceutical industry.
Musician, songwriter, and film and music producer Philip King was recognised for his contribution to the arts, having graduated from UCC with a bachelor of arts degree in 1974.
Liam McKechnie, appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010, was the first UCC graduate to be appointed to the country’s highest judicial court and senior vice-president of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, Paul Ahern, also received the award.
William Fennell was awarded a special voluntary service accolade for his contributions to UCC’s medical school.
The Alumni Achievement Awards aim to foster loyalty, involvement and commitment to the university among alumni, university president Michael Murphy said.
“It gives me great pleasure to present an Alumnus Achievement Award to these graduates, whose outstanding accomplishments have brought great honour to their alma mater. We regard our graduates as our global ambassadors and a valuable resource to the university.”