DAVID McSwiggan was born in Rutherglen, Scotland on January 3rd, 1930, a son of a greengrocer, after whom he was named. If you imagine Ronnie Barker in Open All Hours, with the stature of Ronnie Corbett, you have a picture of David’s father. A natural entrepreneur, he had a chain of greengrocer shops, but not content with that he also bought a hotel in Blackpool while on holiday.
David worked there in his summer holidays with his cousin, Frank McKenna. The boys were brought up together, as brothers in the same household, but had very different natures, which became more evident as they got older. They enjoyed those summers at the hotel, working long, mostly unpaid hours.
During the second World War David went to St Joseph’s College, Dumfries, a Catholic boarding school run by Marist brothers. It was there that he met his future brother-in-law, Gerald (now Fr) Muir. David did Gerald’s Latin homework for him – or so he claimed in a speech at his wedding; his mother-in-law was not impressed!
From St Joseph’s he went on to Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied maths for two years before deciding to do medicine. Everyone in his family was surprised as he had always had a “weak” stomach, being sick at the slightest smell. He won the John Wheeler medal for surgery. He then did a year’s residency at Hairmyers Hospital in East Kilbride. He delivered many babies on the maternity watch and many were named David.
In September 1956 he married Jane Muir. Next he joined the army and did his national service, becoming a major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was posted to Fallen Bostal, and then to Verden in Germany. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and specialised in bacteriology and virology.
After taking a postgraduate degree at the London School of Tropical Medicine, he was posted to Malaysia for three years. In the 1960s he worked at University College Hospital later the Central Middlesex Hospital. When he was at UCH the Beatle George Harrison came in with a sore throat. It needed to be swabbed so that the lab could culture it, but the young nurses were too excited to take the swab, so David had to do it himself.
At UCH Dr McSwiggan became a senior consultant. He also helped to set up the dangerous pathogens laboratory at Colindale Avenue, London. If there ever had been an incident of germ warfare, Dr McSwiggan would have been called. A lot of his work and lectures were on winter vomiting disease, and he was witness to the eradication of smallpox. He was highly regarded and respected among his peers and won a merit award, one of the highest accolades in medicine.
He retired to Fermoy, Co Cork in 1992 with his wife Jane and had a happy life there among the Catholic community, which meant so much to him. In his later life he spent his holiday time on pilgrimages to Fatima. He was a familiar figure in Fermoy with his beloved St Bernard named Martin. Many people assumed the dog was named after Blessed St Martin, but in fact he was named after a favourite tipple, Remy Martin. His predecessor was known as Hennessy.
David McSwiggan died of a very rare condition known as “Good Pasture Syndrome” – which was ironic, as he had spent his career treating such diseases. He leaves a daughter and three grand-
children. He is also survived by Jane, and by his younger sister, Maureen. Their beloved sister Patricia, the youngest of the three, died two years ago. David will be remembered for his sayings: “Always aim for the top”; “If you are going to do something, do it with a good grace”; and “You can’t buy style”.
RP