Dr Michael Dunne, a founding member of the Irish College of General Practitioners, was the quintessential family doctor. And, as chairman of the general practitioners' representative body from 1991 to 1994, he was responsible for many of its landmark achievements.
He worked as a family doctor, in Frankfield, Douglas, Cork until his death. A keen listener, he appreciated the differences between curing and healing in medicine. He was a caring friend to many of his patients.
In 1995, on the invitation of Mr Proinsias De Rossa, the then Minister for Social Welfare, Dunne chaired the Commission on the Family. It published its report in 1998 contributing significantly to government policy in the area.
Born in Cork in 1939, he was educated at Christian Brothers College. He entered University College Cork to study dentistry and graduated with a dental science degree in 1961. After a year working in a dental practice in Northern Ireland, he went to the dental hospital in Sheffield, first to work as a senior house officer and then as a registrar. During this period he decided on a career in maxillo-facial surgery, which, uniquely among the specialities, requires the practitioner to have both a medical and a dental degree.
By then married to Anne, a fellow Cork dental science graduate, he returned to his native city to enrol in the faculty of medicine at UCC in 1966. Graduating in 1972, he undertook his internship in St Finbar's Hospital.
Working as a medical intern for his first six months there, he realised that medicine was his first love and he happily abandoned all plans to specialise in surgery of the face and mouth.
After internship he was selected as one of the first entrants of the Cork Vocational Training Scheme, under the direction of Dr Bill Shannon. At the end of the three-year programme, he joined a practice in Douglas before setting up his own surgery in Frankfield in 1988. Michael Dunne developed an interest in the medical benefits of hypnosis. He was the first president of the Irish Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis and he used hypnosis as part of his armaterium of treatments.
But it was his work for general practice nationally, ever since the foundation of the Irish College of General Practitioners in 1984, that marked him out.
Driven by the objective of assuring the best possible care for patients, Dunne was utterly at home in the fledgling organisation.
He chaired the Cork city faculty in its early years and joined the executive of the ICGP in 1988 as honorary secretary.
As chairman of the college he strengthened its structures and introduced effective process to its operations. This gave its task groups a high level of confidence and belief in their work.
A clear thinker and strategist, he brought a quiet air of calm and authority to the negotiating table. When discussions became heated, he could be relied on to defuse the situation with an appropriate phrase. In all his contributions, the litmus test was the need of patients and the highest standards of professional practice. The statement "this is not beyond the wit of man" was a sign that Dunne was about to convert a problem into a challenge.
Renowned for his interest in the welfare of young general practitioners, he encouraged continuing medical education and was particularly involved in the development of distance learning.
A dedicated family man, he maintained a balance between his professional commitments and his personal time.
A lifelong interest in nature was stimulated by his father's beekeeping; binoculars accompanied him on his weekend walks. During holidays and long weekends he sailed out of Crosshaven, in the company of his extended family, to west Cork and the Blasket Islands. He enjoyed fishing and whale watching.
He is survived by his wife Anne, daughters Elizabeth and Deborah, and son Michael.
Michael Dunne: born September 6th, 1939; died October 20th, 2003.