Founder’s Day 2017 was held on 30 November, and was timed to coincide with the 350th anniversary of Jonathan Swift – the founder of St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS).
Swift once said: “A tavern is a place where madness is sold by the bottle,” and to celebrate his legacy, Founder’s Day 2017 was split into two sections, with the first half discussing the life and legacy of Swift and the second part exploring alcohol dependence and its prevention, care and treatment.
Addiction psychiatry has a long history in SPMHS. In 1946, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Ireland held their first meeting in Ireland at St Patrick’s University Hospital (SPUH). In the mid-1960s, John G Cooney began practising at SPMHS and started developing the Alcohol and Chemical Dependence Programme. The dual diagnosis programme started in 2003 and, in 2009, the Temple Centre for Addiction for Mental Healthcare was founded and is based on the SPUH campus.
The plenary speaker, Professor Marcin Wojnar, Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Warsaw, was joined by Dr Peter Rice, Chair of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP); Brendan Twomey from the history department in Trinity College Dublin; Rolande Anderson, alcohol/addiction counsellor; and Dr Conor Farren, psychiatrist at SPMHS, specialising in addiction.
Other speakers included our Chief Executive Officer, Paul Gilligan, and Medical Director, Professor Jim Lucey. Minister Jim Daly TD, Minister of State at the Department of Health also spoke on the day.
Listen to podcasts from the conference
Professor Jim Lucey highlights Jonathan Swift’s lasting impact on SPMHS.
Brendan Twomey - Swift and the Origins of St Patrick’s Hospital
Mr Twomey, from Trinity College’s history department, shares the story of how Jonathan Swift came to found SPMHS.
Dr Conor Farren - Technology and the Treatment of Alcohol Misuse
Dr Conor Farren is currently researching novel technology-based treatment for alcohol misuse. Dr Farren highlights how new technology can be used for the treatment of addiction.
Dr Peter Rice - Getting the Best Buys in the Shopping Basket: Improving Mental Health through Alcohol Policy
Dr Rice shares some of his vast knowledge on how to evaluate current research and identify strategies to reduce alcohol-related health damage.
Mr Rolande Anderson - For Bitter, For Worse
Rolande discusses the repercussions of alcoholism on the family, living with a problem drinker and recovery from alcohol dependence.
Professor Marcin Wojnar
In our Founder’s Day plenary lecture, Professor Wojnar presents a discussion on addiction and how treatment can differ country to country and the evolution of treatments in Eastern Europe.