Finian Peter Houlihan

bmj;378/sep13_11/o2169/FAF1faFinian Peter Houlihan (“Fin”) was one of the great diaspora of Irish otologists to cross the sea and ply their trade in the UK at a time when opportunities were regarded as somewhat more limited at home.After qualifying and while spending his intern year at Ardkeen Hospital in Waterford, he used his spare time profitably to complete a BSc in anthropology and anatomy (awarded in 1969). His surgical training continued at the Connolly and Hume Street hospitals in Dublin, followed by a formative period under the great Gordon Smyth in Belfast. In the late 1970s Smyth was perfecting combined approach tympanoplasty in cholesteatoma management and Fin co-authored several influential publications and went on to train several generations of junior surgeons in the technique.Fin then returned to Waterford (initially as a consultant to the glass factory), while developing a broad ear, nose, and throat medical practice. Struck by one of his…
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