Book review: Tony Holohan’s slow rise to oversee the health of a nation in crisis

In his book, We Need To Talk, Dr Tony Holohan reviews 14 years in office, encompassing swine flu, the CervicalCheck crisis and the covid-19 pandemic

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan delivering the nightly statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) at a covid-19 briefing. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

For many years our former chief medical officer (CMO, Tony Holohan, made a career of rising without trace, at least in the eyes of the public and politicians. And you get a strong sense from his newly published biography that this is precisely how he wished it.

A quick scan of the articles database of the Irish Examiner from the 2009 appointment of this garda’s son who was born in Dublin and raised in Limerick reveals a low-profile back catalogue of news items — from 46 in the year of his promotion followed by 10 years in which he rarely achieves a weekly reference.