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Remembering Dr Roger Blaney

11 July, 2022
Dr Roger Blaney, RIP
A photograph of Dr Roger Blaney, smiling at the camera

Remembering Dr Roger Blaney

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland is saddened to have been informed of the passing of Dr Roger Blaney on July 2nd, 2022, at the age of 91.

The College and the Faculty of Public Health Medicine would like to offer deepest condolences to his family at this difficult time.

Dr Roger Blaney was a distinguished public health practitioner, academic, historian and stalwart supporter of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine since its foundation.

Having obtained his qualification from Queen’s University Belfast in 1957, Dr Roger Blaney came to have a prominent career in medicine, with a keen interest in epidemiology and a passion for public health in Ireland. He was made Honorary Senior Lecturer in Social & Preventative Medicine and Head of Department of Public Health Medicine & Medical Statistics at Queen’s University in 1987.

Throughout his career, Dr Blaney demonstrated his unwavering commitment to advancing the health and welfare of the people of Ireland. His research spanned diverse topics including health services delivery, alcoholism and medical ethics, and he was active in a number of conciliatory organisations. He was author of Belfast:100 years of Public Health published in 1988.

Dr Blaney also authored an important document on the genesis of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine in 1999 and was a major contributor to the recent publication, Forty years of Public Health Medicine in Ireland 1976-2016. 

A scholar of the Irish language, Dr Blaney was a former President of Acadamh na Lianna, with a special interest in the translation of medical terminology. He was commended for his book Presbyterians and the Irish Language, the first to establish the Irish language in Presbyterian heritage in Ireland.

Dr Blaney held an MB, BCh, BAO from Queen’s University Belfast (1957), DPH from Queen’s University Belfast (1961) and MD from Queen’s University Belfast (1965). He was awarded a Fellowship of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine in 1977 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 2020.