Top honour for College President Mike McKirdy 

15 Nov 2023

College President, Mike McKirdy, was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) last week.

The award was made at RCSI’s Millin Meeting on Friday 10 November in recognition of his long-standing dedication to improving breast cancer services. Mr McKirdy also gave a keynote lecture at the event on the global challenges of breast cancer surgery.  

Alongside holding the office of President of our College, Mr McKirdy is a leading consultant surgeon and has been based at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley since 1997. Throughout his career, he has led the development of breast cancer services in the Clyde area of the West of Scotland, forming a three-hospital service, introducing oncoplastic surgery, sentinel node biopsy and screening surgery, and a post-treatment rehabilitation programme.  

He is also a champion for global health and for eradicating health inequalities. 

Mr McKirdy said: “I was delighted to be invited to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to accept this Honorary Fellowship. It was a great honour to receive the award and strengthen the bond of collaboration between our Royal Colleges, as well as to deliver a keynote lecture on breast cancer as a global health challenge.  

“Our Colleges will continue to work together to further advance and improve surgical practice in the years to come, particularly in strengthening capacity in global surgery.” 

Professor Laura Viani, RCSI President said: “We are honoured to award an Honorary Fellowship of RCSI to Mr McKirdy, whose commitment as an advocate for surgery is an inspiration to us all. Mr McKirdy’s career is a testament to an unwavering dedication to leadership with remarkable contributions to Global Health, in addition to aiding the development of new surgical techniques in Scotland.” 

Founded as the national training body for surgery in Ireland, RCSI is today an internationally leading health sciences university and research institution offering education and training at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional level. 

The Millin meeting brought together members of the surgical community to discuss current trends in surgery and healthcare, including a symposium on research and surgical trials in Ireland. It was the first time the event -named in honour of RCSI former President Terence Millin – has been held since 2019.  

The meeting also welcomed the launch of a new model of care for vascular surgery by the National Clinical Programme in Surgery (NCPS), a collaboration between the HSE and RCSI.