€1m donation leads to Ireland’s first chair of neonatology

The donation from UCC alumnus Daragh Horgan and his wife Anne has led to the appointment of Ireland’s first chair of neonatology

Prof Geraldine Boylan, director of the Infant Centre, UCC; Prof John O’Halloran, interim president of UCC; Prof Eugene Dempsey, the new Horgan Chair in Neonatology, Infant Centre, UCC; and Professor Helen Whelton, head of the College of Medicine and Health, UCC. Picture: Donagh Glavin

A couple’s €1m donation to a health research centre which focuses on pregnancy, birth and early childhood has led to the appointment of Ireland’s first chair of neonatology.

University College Cork’s Infant Research Centre, based at Cork University Maternity Hospital, has announced that consultant neonatologist Prof Eugene Dempsey has been appointed to the Horgan Chair in Neonatology – named after UCC alumnus Daragh Horgan and his wife Anne.

Daragh and Ann Horgan who have donated €1m to UCC's INFANT research centre.

Mr Horgan, a UCC alumnus who made his money in finance, and his wife Anne are based in London but have donated €1m to support Infant’s research over the last seven years.

Led by Prof Geraldine Boylan, the centre is Ireland’s only dedicated research centre spanning maternal and child health.

Mr Horgan said he and Anne are huge cheerleaders of Prof Boylan and her team.

“Research into paediatric medicine generally is significantly underfunded and so supporting neonatal research at the INFANT centre is incredibly important,” he said.

Improving care for newborn or pre-term babies is vital: for their longer term outcomes, for the impact it has on their families, and on the cost to society as a whole.

“Infant's marriage of research and clinical work under one roof is a powerful combination, which gives the centre a significant advantage.

“We are delighted that Prof Dempsey will become the new chair of neonatology – with his energy and expertise, we are sure that the team will press home this advantage in making Infant a world leader in neonatology.” 

Prof Dempsey, who was appointed following an international search, said the position represents an exciting opportunity to grow Infant’s world-leading research programme in newborn care.

“Over the next five years, we will continue to develop strong international collaborative links in newborn clinical trials,” he said.

“We will lead and partner in some of these exciting multinational trials, all aiming to generate new knowledge and enhance patient outcomes.

University College Cork’s INFANT Research Centre is Ireland’s only dedicated research centre spanning maternal and child health. File picture

“These trials encompass many important aspects of clinical care including newborn stabilisation at delivery, studying anti-seizure medication in full-term newborns and measuring brain oxygen levels non-invasively in preterm infants.

“We will also establish a centre for newborn neurocritical care given our research and clinical strength in this area, whilst also ensuring that we train the next generation of neonatal academic scientists through close alignment with our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programs at UCC.’’ 

UCC’s interim president, Prof John O’Halloran, thanked the Horgans for their generous support.

This is a ground-breaking appointment for Cork and Ireland and highlights the transformative impact that philanthropy can have.” 

“This extremely generous gift is of strategic importance in terms of our Alumni and Development programme and, enhances academic and clinical research leadership for UCC nationally and internationally.’’