Fellows Friday: Dr Gibbon FitzGibbon and Dr Sharon Cooley
This week our Fellows Friday turns the spotlight on to the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. For Fellows Friday each week we will be delving into the archives and spotlighting one of our Fellows from the past who helped to blaze a trail. We’ll also be looking to the future of medicine and profiling some of our current inspirational Fellows.
Gibbon FitzGibbon
Gibbon FitzGibbon was born in Dublin in 1877, the son of Dr Henry FitzGibbon, former President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Graduating in medicine from Trinity College in 1900, FitzGibbon volunteered to join the Royal Army Medical Corps to serve in the Boer War where he gained experience in surgery and the treatment of typhoid fever.
 |
| Gibbon FitzGibbon as a medical student in 1900 |
Returning to Dublin he specialised in Obstetrics and was appointed Assistant Master of the Rotunda in 1902. He was appointed gynaecologist at the Royal City of Dublin Hospital in 1910, the same year he received his Fellowship from RCPI, before returning to the Rotunda as Master in 1919. As Master he faced a deficit in the hospital accounts, he increased the hospital’s income through fundraising initiatives, but also implemented economies in the hospital which were not always popular with the staff.
FitzGibbon’s time as Master coincided with the War of Independence. The curfew imposed by the British in Dublin presented problems for the Rotunda’s staff who needed to visit maternity cases in the district. He visited the British authorities and undertook personal responsibility for staff abroad during curfew. Printed cards were issued bearing his signature and that of the authorities in Dublin Castle. During the Civil War when no safe passes could be issued, FitzGibbon would often drive through the streets of Dublin at night flying a Red Cross flag on the roof of his car, either to rescue his stranded staff or visit urgent cases in person.
FitzGibbon was regarded as an original and courageous teacher who showed dedication and thought in the care of his patients. He published a number of works, including a textbook on practical midwifery, which would go through several editions. He was a foundation Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. He died in Dublin in December 1952 aged 75 years old.
Sharon Cooley
 |
Prof Mary Horgan awarding Fellowship to Dr Sharon Cooley
Photograph by Bobby Studio |
Dr Sharon Cooley became a Fellow of RCPI in 2019. She graduated from the National University of Ireland Galway in 1997 and has worked as a lecturer for Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as well as an honorary lecturer for the University of Birmingham. She maintains an active role in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and is currently an Honorary Lecturer for the Royal College of Surgeons.
She is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Maternal and Fetal Medicine Subspecialist and works as the Early Pregnancy Lead and Clinical Audit Lead for the Rotunda Hospital. Dr Cooley has an MD in thrombosis and an interest in early pregnancy complications and clinical decision tools.
Dr Cooley is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a member of the Executive for the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Ireland and has held a number of roles within the Institute, she currently holds the role of Treasurer for the Institute.