Doctors’ calendar to set pulses racing

Setting pulses racing across the country, doctors and medical students have buffed up and stripped down for the all new Irish Doctor Calendar.

Hot on the heels of the Irish Farmer Calendar, this latest offering from the same creator should probably come with a health warning — ‘risk of palpitations’.

But with a percentage of the overall proceeds going to Epilepsy Ireland, it might be just what the doctor ordered.

Creator Ciara Ryan started producing an Irish farmer calendar six years ago and it was an unprecedented success — 5,000 calendars were sold last year and helped raise funds for Bóthar.

This year, Ciara wanted to give Ireland a healthy dose of the county’s most delicious doctors.

She said: “I guess I just wanted to expand and try something else. The response to it has been great.”

So far, the calendar has received orders from the US, Australia, Britain, Germany, Poland and France, Hong Kong, South Africa.

Photographer Fran Marshall said she was taken aback by the public response and praised the dishy doctors’ modelling skills. “All the lads were brilliant and managed to keep smiling despite being a bit cold minus their shirts.”

Deacon Farrell, also known as ‘Mr July’, said the calendar was “a bit of a laugh” adding it’s for a really good cause. He said: “Doctors can be a bit uptight about this kind of thing and some say you should be professional all the time, but I think you can still be professional and have a bit of craic at the same time.”

The Galway man admitted he’s getting a “good bit of slagging” about the calendar from some of the nurses on the ward.

He said: “It can come across as a bunch of vain doctors but everyone is very genuine and it’s all about the charity aspect really. People don’t realise how underfunded services actually are. Every day units are closing so it’s all about raising funds at the end of the day.”

- The calendar is available from www.thedoctorcalendar.com