Tony Holohan
William Gerard Anthony "Tony" Holohan is an Irish public health physician. He was Chief Medical Officer for the Irish Department of Health from 2008 to 2020. On 2 July 2020, he stepped back from his position as Chief Medical Officer due to family issues. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn will succeed him as acting chief medical officer. He chaired the National Public Health Emergency Team, a group established to co-ordinate the state's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland from the beginning of the pandemic until temporary hiatus in early July 2020.Background
Holohan was born in Dublin and grew up in Limerick. His primary education was at Monaleen N.S.; his secondary education took place at the Christian Brothers school at Sexton Street, Limerick.Medical career
Holohan graduated from medical school at University College Dublin in 1991. After training in general practice, he also trained in public health medicine, graduating with a Masters in Public Health in 1996. Holohan was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer in 2001, followed by promotion to Chief Medical Officer in December 2008.
Holohan holds a diploma in healthcare management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He is a member of the Irish College of General Practitioners and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
Holohan had a role in the CervicalCheck cancer scandal. One day after Vicky Phelan publicly criticised CervicalCheck outside the High Court, Holohan advised in an email – dated 26 April 2018 – against any external review of the cancer screening programme, instead asking the Minister for Health Simon Harris to go for a report prepared by Holohan himself. Holohan told Harris the "appropriate way forward" was to "state that you have asked me to provide a report on the matter, including whether further actions or steps are required... I strongly advise that you do not commit to a review of CervicalCheck arising from the recent court case", that to announce a review "could unnecessarily undermine public confidence in CervicalCheck" when, wrote Holohan, there was "no evidence at this stage that there are quality or patient safety concerns with the CervicalCheck programme". Harris ignored Holohan's advice.
On 29 February 2020, Holohan announced the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019, and that the resulting pandemic had spread to Ireland. He gave a televised interview to The Late Late Show on 17 April 2020.
