Dr John Gilbert Kirker

The College was saddened to hear of the death of Dr John Gilbert Kirker, former President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, earlier this month.

Dr Kirker was born in Norfolk in 1922. He studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin in the 1940s, and while there was a resident student at Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital. Dr Kirker returned to Dun's Hospital as consultant physician, with a special interest in Neurology. He was also consultant physician at St. Patrick's Hospital Dublin, as well as lecturing in pharmacology at Trinity College Dublin.

Dr Kirker had a major interest in Epilepsy. He helped to found the Irish Epilepsy Association, which later became known as Brainwave, at RCPI, 6 Kildare Street on 4 October 1966. Up to his death, he was President of Brainwave. His immense contribution to Irish, and indeed European, epileptology has been widely acknowledged. He was directly responsible for the development of electroencephalographic (EEG) services in Ireland and was Director of the EEG Department of the National Neurosurgery Centre at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. He remained at the forefront of EEG reading and epilepsy practice for more than half a century, up to his retirement in the late 1990s. In 2007 he was awarded the Social Achievement award at the 27th International Epilepsy Conference, Singapore.

Dr Kirker was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1956. He was an active member of the College, serving at the first ever Director of Examinations (1975-1982), as Vice-President (1981) and as President (1983-5). Dr Kirker took up the position of RCPI President for a second time in January 1989 following the death in office of Dr Ivo Drury. On this occasion Dr Kirker served for nine months to complete Dr Drury's three year term.