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Professor Desmond O'Neill

Professor In Traffic Medicine (Psychology)
Professor In Traffic Medicine (Trinity Inst. of Neurosciences (TCIN))
Professor In Traffic Medicine (School Office - Medicine)
      
Profile Photo

Professor Desmond O'Neill

Professor In Traffic Medicine (Psychology)

 Des.ONeill@tcd.ie

 

Professor In Traffic Medicine (Trinity Inst. of Neurosciences (TCIN))

Professor In Traffic Medicine (School Office - Medicine)


As a medical undergraduate of TCD, Prof O'Neill spent a year in Marseille as a volunteer with a NGO working with older people, and with electives in Hamburg. He subsequently trained as a geriatrician in St James's Hospital and the University of Bristol. Following an appointment as consultant geriatrician in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham he returned to Dublin and currently is the senior academic in Medical Gerontology at the TCD campus at Tallaght University Hospital. His focus of research (h-index 46 (Scopus), 58 (Google), 270 (i10)) is rooted in gerontology and the neurosciences, with a strong emphasis on liaison with the humanities. He has pioneered a number of initiatives, including first Medical Director of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland; founder-Chair of Council on Stroke of Irish Heart Foundation; co-PI on first Irish longitudinal study on ageing (HESSOP-2); co-PI on Irish National Audits of Stroke and Dementia Care; founder-editor of first Irish gerontology journal 'Irish Ageing Studies Review'; chair of Irish government Working Group on Elder Abuse, producing blueprint 'Protecting Our Future'; co-founder National Centre for Arts and Health; member of team that developed the European Masters in Gerontology; co-PI on first Irish Cochrane Review on ageing; and founder member and subsequent president of the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society. He has subsequently led on the Irish Traffic Medicine Programme, which has developed innovative Certificates in Traffic Medicine and Road Safety with the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland. He has been extensively involved in the Age-Friendly University initiative, successfully proposing to adoption in TCD and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and on the steering committee of the founding Age-Friendly University, Dublin City University. He has been honoured as the first Irish gerontologist to be awarded Fellowship of the Gerontological Society of America, and first Irish geriatrician to be awarded Fellowship of the American Geriatrics Society. From a humanities perspective, he co-chairs Medical and Health Humanities in TCD's Long Room Hub, and is a former Chair of the Humanities, Arts and Cultural Gerontology Advisory Panel of the Gerontological Society of America. A singular pleasure has been five Christmas BMJ papers: the music of grief, gout expressed in music, the perils of advocacy through wheelchair Barbie, Jellyatrics - Jelly Babies at 90, and the pervasive ageism of the Economist magazine.
  Age related diseases   AGED, AUTOMOBILE DRIVING   Ageing, memory and other cognitive processes   Ageing, stroke, dementia   ALZHEIMERS DISEASE   ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE   Biomedical ethics   DEGLUTITION   DEGLUTITION DISORDERS   DEMENTIA   DRIVING   Gerontology   MEMORY CLINICS   OLDER PERSONS   STROKE   TRANSPORT
Project Title
 Healthy Ageing Research Project
From
2002
To
2006
Summary
The first data is being analyzed from the first longitudinal study on ageing in Ireland, a joint research project between TCD (leader Prof Des O'Neill (1983)), RCSI and Queen's University Belfast. Funding of €800,000 has been provided by the Health Research Board, and the acronym for the study (HARP) helps to identify the country of origin! Drawing on a second cohort of older people from the Republic of Ireland, as well as a cohort from Northern Ireland, the study has great potential to help understand the process of ageing in Ireland, and in particular some of the reasons why longevity has been lagging behind that of the EU 15 states. The survey looks at not only health, social and psychological variables, but also at usage patterns and perceptions of health and social services in both systems. A sub-study of the project is the examination of psychological models of coping after stroke, which is being carried out at the Stroke Service in Tallaght Hospital, the first acute service in the Republic of Ireland. As much neurorehabilitation serves as much to facilitate adaptation as to restore function, this is a key (and under-expolored) area of research. A first study from this arm of the project won the poster prize at the National Stroke Study Day in May 2005, and further publications are in preparation.
Funding Agency
Health Research Board, Ireland
Project Type
Clinical/epidemiological
Project Title
 Irish National Stroke Audit
From
2005
To
Summary
A €600,000 project, PI's Prof Hannah McGee (RCSI) and Desmond O'Neill (TCD), the work involves a national stroke audit of hospital and community stroke services for the Republic of Ireland. The objective of the audit of hospital based stroke services is to establish the current level and functioning of services available for the care of stroke patients in acute hospitals in the Republic of Ireland. The audit of hospital-based services will have two components: i) an Audit of the Organisational Aspects of Stroke Care in acute hospitals with regard to their resources for organised stroke care: and ii) a Clinical Audit of Stroke Care involving review of clinical case notes for a selected sample of patients with stroke.
Funding Agency
Irish Heart Foundation/Department of Health and Children
Project Type
Health Services Researches
Project Title
 Music Therapy in Stroke
From
2006
To
2007
Summary
A randomized controlled trial of music therapy in stroke: grant of €40,000
Funding Agency
Meath Foundation
Project Type
Clinical Research
Project Title
 Artists in Hospitals
From
2006
To
2007
Summary
Project to develop a training course for artists working in hospitals. Grand of €25,000
Funding Agency
Arts Council
Project Title
 Robotics in Stroke
From
2008
To
2009
Summary
€250,000
Funding Agency
Health Services Executive

Page 1 of 5
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
French Fluent Fluent Fluent
German Basic Basic Basic
Details Date From Date To
Co-organiser and lecturer on first three courses in Social and Applied Gerontology in Ireland (with the Irish Red Cross, and St Patrick's College, Maynooth, National University of Ireland) 1987 1989
Chairman of scientific subcommittee and council member of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland 1987 1989
Chair, Trainees Committee, British Geriatrics Society 1991 1992
Director of Postgraduate Education, Robert Graves Postgraduate Centre, Adelaide and Meath Hospital Dublin 1994 2002
Member, Committee for Safe Mobility of Older Persons, US Transportation Research Board 1997 2000
Chair, Government Working Group on Elder Abuse 1999 2002
Chair, National Review Group on Implementation of Policy on Elder Abuse 2003 2010
President, Dublin University Biological Association 2001 2002
Medical Director, Alzheimer Society of Ireland 1993 2004
Founder/Chair, Council on Stroke, Irish Heart Foundation 1997 2009
Secretary, Irish Gerontological Society 2003 2008
Secretary, European Union Geriatric Medical Society 2006 2008
Founder Board Member, European Union Geriatric Medical Society 1999 2006
Member, OECD Working Group ERS4, Ageing and Transport: Mobility Needs and Safety Issues 1998 2001
President, Irish Gerontological Society 2008 2011
President-Elect, European Union Geriatric Medicine Society 2008 2009
President, European Union Geriatric Medicine Society 2010 2011
Member, International Advisory Board, World Demographic Association Forum 2011 2014
Co-Chair, RCPI Working Group on Fitness to Drive 2010 2011
Chair, National Centre for Arts and Health 2010 2020
Immediate Past-President and member Executive Board, European Union Geriatric Medicine Society Jan 2012 Dec 2013
Executive Board Member, International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, European Region (IAGG-ER) 2011 2015
Member, Editorial Board, European Geriatric Medicine 2011
Provisional member, Humanities and Arts Committee, Gerontological Society of America 2014 2016
Member, Humanities and Arts Committee, Gerontological Society of America 2016 2021
Chair, Policy Group on Ageing, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Feb 2016 2018
Council Member, RCPI Oct 2014 Oct 2018
Chair of the Humanities and Arts Committee, Gerontological Society of America November 2018 November 2020
Editorial Board, Journal of Transport and Health March 2018
Vice-Chair, Meath Foundation August 2017 June 2022
Committee Member, Irish Transportation Research Network August 2018
Section Editor, Geriatric Medical Humanities, European Geriatric Medicine journal 01/06/2019
Chair, Irish Society of Physicians in Geriatric Medicine 01/10/2020 Oct 2024
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 01/01/2021
Member, Standing Committee on Mobility of Older Persons and Individuals with Disabilities -- AQC13, US Transportation Research Board 16 Aug 2025 14 April 2028
Optimising the Longevity Dividend in, editor(s)Rockwood K, Hubbard R, Clegg A , Brocklehurst's Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, 9th Edition, Elsevier, 2026, pp12 - 24, [O'Neill D], Book Chapter, IN_PRESS  URL
Medical Humanities and Cultural Gerontology in, editor(s)Twigg J, Martin M , Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology, 2nd Edition, Abingdon, Oxon, Routledge, 2026, pp1-12 , [O'Neill D], Book Chapter, IN_PRESS  URL
Doyle P, McHugh S, O'Neill D, Nursing home research in Ireland before and after the pandemic, Ir J Med Sci, 2026, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Waldron E, O'Neill D, Transport access for ambulatory care for older people, Ir Med J, 119, (1), 2026, pP10 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Forde G, Harte G, Quinn S, Conaty S, McCarron C, Siemers T, O'Neill D, Muscle Makers: A 10-Week Strength and Nutrition Program for Sarcopenia, Ir Med J, 118, (7), 2025, p110 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
Fitzpatrick N, O'Neill D, Closer than ever before: insights into parallel ageing of older people and their even older parents from the cinematic genius of no home movie, Eur Geriatr Med, 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Fitzpatrick N, O'Neill D., Cinematic portrayals of euthanasia and ageing across the decades., Lancet (London, England), 406, (10514), 2025, p1942-1943 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
O'Neill D., Ageing and the lifespan through the eyes of Caspar David Friedrich., European geriatric medicine, 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
Kelly N, Skelly F, Dowd K, O'Neill D, McCaffery N, McDermott C., Acute Physiological Response Of People Living With Dementia And Care Partners To A Ceili Danceclass, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, American College of Sports Medicine, Atlanta, 27 May 2025, 57, (105), 2025, pp768-9 , Meeting Abstract, PUBLISHED  DOI
Doyle P, McHugh S, O'Neill D, From Silence to Surge: Nursing Home Research in Ireland Before and After the Pandemic, Age and Ageing, Irish Gerontological Society, Killarney, 3-5 October 2025, 54, (Suppl 4), 2025, ppiv 7 , Meeting Abstract, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
  

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O'Neill D, Shostakovich and the simian serenade, Hektoen International, 2026, p1 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D, I wrote the Leas Cross report. Two decades on, has anything changed in Irish nursing homes?, 2025, -, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D, Should assisted dying be legalised? No, 2024, -, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D, Deep concerns over processes in Medical Council, 2024, -, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D, On the removal of the stricture against euthanasia, 2024, -, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D, Irish Diary: Drama and spirituality - Desmond O'Neill on Rossini's Petite messe solennelle, 2024, -, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D, Irish Diary: Innocence and mischief - Desmond O'Neill on the humorist and social commentator Erich Kästner, 2024, -, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D, Integrating Humanities and Arts in Gerontology and Age-Friendly Education, Advancing Age-Inclusivity in Higher Eduction, a Newsletter of the Gerontological Society of America, (Winter), 2022, p1 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D,, Gerontology for Geriatricians - with Style, 2022, -, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED
O'Neill D, You should care about the state of our nursing homes - you may well end up in one: It is time we start identifying with nursing home care as being a significant possibility in our own futures, 2022, -, Miscellaneous, PUBLISHED

  


Page 1 of 15
Award Date
Sheppard Memorial Prize, Irish College of General Practitioners 1982
Peter Beckett Memorial Prize, Dept of Psychiatry, TCD 1982
Health Promotion Award for video on positive ageing: Health Education Bureau, Dublin 1982
Elizabeth Brown Prize, British Geriatrics Society 1988
Fellow's Travel Scholarship, American Geriatrics Society 1991
Fellow's Travel Scholarship, American Geriatrics Society 1992
Fellowship, American Geriatrics Society 2006
All-Ireland Inspirational Life Award March 2010
Marjory Warren Lecturer, British Geriatrics Society May 20111
Irish Heart Foundation National Stroke Champion 22 November 2011
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine Humanism in Aging Leadership Award January 2013
Visiting Professor, Australian and New Zealand Geriatric Medicine Society June 2013
Guest Editor, Geriatric Medicine CME, Clinical Medicine April 2014
Fellowship, Gerontological Society of America June 2014
Joseph T Freeman Award, Gerontological Society of America Nov 2014
Inaugural Presidential Medal and Lecture, Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland Sept 2015
Irish Healthcare Award: Best Education Project: Traffic Medicine Project 5 Nov 2015
Irish Healthcare Award: Best Education Meeting: Traffic Medicine 5 Nov 2015
Adjunct Professor, Dept Psychology, Maynooth University 2018
L J Hurwitz Memorial Lecture 2019, Queen's University Belfast 30 May 2019
Gordon Watson Lecture and Medal, XXIX Waterford Surgical Meeting 12 Oct 2019
Sir William Taylor Lecture, Association of Medical and Dental Graduates RCSI 19 May 2022