Michael ffrench-O'Carroll:The death has taken place at the age of 87 of Dr Michael ffrench-O'Carroll, DPH, MD, MFPHM, FFPHI, whose early life combined medicine and politics in the tempestuous and dramatic period following Fianna Fáil's electoral defeat in 1948, and whose later professional career marked him out as a skilful, dedicated - and sometimes controversial - innovator in the key areas of addiction and community health.
Born in Dublin, where his father was medical officer for the Donnybrook district, Michael ffrench-O'Carroll qualified in medicine at Trinity College and in 1947 set up a private clinic - the Burlington Clinic - as an acute private hospital.
Although he joined Clann na Poblachta at around the same time as Noel Browne, and for similar reasons, he did not stand in the 1948 election because his home base was in Dublin South-East, the constituency in which Browne ran and was successful.
He became, instead, a Clann na Poblachta member of Dublin City Council in the 1950 local elections, and then, in the chaotic aftermath of the collapse of the first inter-party government, ran as an independent against his former party leader SeáMacBride in Dublin South-West in the 1951 general election. In that constituency he took the seat formerly held by Fine Gael's Michael J. O'Higgins, polling more than twice as many first preference votes as MacBride, who scraped into the final seat.
In 1953 he joined Fianna Fáil together with Browne, and made his mark within that party as a serious and dedicated TD, but lost his Dáil seat to O'Higgins in the 1954 election, after which he successfully stood as an independent candidate for the Seanad on the Cultural and Educational panel.
In 1957 his political career came to an end and, although he served for a time as part-time chairman of the Irish Hospitals Commission, he decided to go for post-graduate medical training in the United States (his Dublin practice had involved substantial public health work for the US embassy in Dublin).
He discovered on his return to Ireland that his previous association with Noel Browne had resulted in him becoming effectively blacklisted for public service medical positions and also in relation to private practice. Alerted to this by a friendly medical colleague, and after some additional UK experience, he started almost at the bottom again - in a relatively junior position in the Southern Health Board area.
From the mid-1970s onwards his undoubted talents, and his American experience, began to count in his favour. Although a number of American hospitals later went to considerable lengths in unsuccessful attempts to persuade him back to the US, he dedicated himself to his native country and, in particular, to work in the then emerging field of addiction and community health.
In 1976 he was appointed director of community care and medical officer of health by the Southern Health Board, and assigned to Cork city.
Two years later, increasingly aware of the widespread implications of drug and alcohol abuse for community health, he began to concentrate his work in this area and, following further experience on secondment in the US, established an out-patient centre at Arbour House in Cork, where he personally devised the model of care.
He was director of Arbour House from 1984 until 1996 and, in 1995, was invited by Sister Consilio to establish a residential programme for young adult heroin addicts at Cuan Mhuire, in Athy, where he worked indefatigably with hundreds of young people and their families.
His energies, abilities and skills to all intents and purposes undimmed by age, he published his book on addiction in 1995 and, as recently as 1998, was appointed to the Crime Forum by the minister forjJustice.
He had strong opinions about public policy and medical practice in the area of addiction, and never hesitated to enunciate them even when they went counter to established ideas. His own track record was his best argument.
In private life he was superb company, his pin-sharp memory of political and medical controversies enhanced by a perfect sense of courtesy and respect for other people's opinions. He married, in 1944, Renée Marie de la Laforcade, daughter of the then French ambassador to Dublin, who survives him, together with their children Suzanne, Paul, Marie-Claire, Donal and Arthur.
Michael William ffrench-O'Carroll, born September 15th, 1919; died May 5th, 2007