Lecarrow, Co. Roscommon native Dr Martin Feeley, who has died at the age of 73, was a highly regarded consultant vascular surgeon and also a former international rower.
While always highly respected in the medical field, Dr Feeley came to wider prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic during which he was an outspoken critic of the Government’s response.
Dr Feeley’s opposition to Government policy in frequent media appearances at the time, led to his resignation as Clinical Director of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group.
Born in 1950, Martin Feeley grew up in Lecarrow. He was an accomplished rower in his youth, representing Ireland in the men’s coxless four event in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
After graduating from UCD with a degree in medicine, he was conferred with the diploma of Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1979. He went on to take a Master’s degree in surgery at the National University of Ireland (in 1985). In 2015, he became group clinical director at the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, having previously been a consultant vascular surgeon and clinical director at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Feeley emerged as a dogged opponent of government-imposed restrictions. In media interviews, he raised concerns that younger people, considered to be at low risk, were most affected by the “draconian” restrictions.
He also argued that those in the low risk category should be exposed to the virus so as to develop herd immunity and reduce the risk to more vulnerable groups.
His stance was very much at variance with the establishment view, which arguably compromised him professionally. In September 2020 Dr Feeley resigned from his post with Dublin Midlands Hospital Group after the HSE disputed his comments.
He died suddenly at his home in Dublin on Thursday, 21st of December.
Many tributes have been paid on social media, including from people who worked with him over the years. Dr Feeley was described as a lovely man who was very kind to fellow medical professionals. Independent TD Michael McNamara tweeted that the late Martin Feeley was “a doctor unafraid to question the consensus”.
Another tribute on Twitter read: ‘A great man who wasn’t afraid to stand alone in the face of adversity. If only we had more men like him in this country. We lost a good one. RIP Dr Feeley’.
Another tweet read: ‘This poor man was shunned… by the HSE… for challenging the ‘science’ that caused untold damage to people, unnecessary lockdowns, mental health issues, loss of business. RIP Dr Feeley’.
