
Biography
Professor Deborah McNamara is President of RCSI and Consultant General & Colorectal Surgeon at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin and the Bon Secours, Glasnevin. She qualified from Trinity College Dublin, completed surgical training in Ireland and undertook fellowship training in France, specialising in the surgical management of colorectal cancer. She has extensive experience in all areas of general and colorectal surgery as well as endoscopy.
She has published more than 225 peer-reviewed research papers in the areas of colorectal cancer, surgical training and healthcare quality improvement and safety. Her work has been recognised with a number of national and international distinctions.
In addition to her clinic practice, Professor McNamara was Programme Director of the National Higher Surgical Training Programme (2010-2013) and Clinical Director for Surgery at Beaumont Hospital (2014-2017). Her work as Chair of the Colorectal Cancer Guidelines and Clinical Leads groups of the Irish National Cancer Control Programme (2011-2024) led to the publication of the first National Clinical Guidelines for colon and rectal cancer, endorsed by the Minister for Health as national policy. In 2017, she chaired the group that published the RCSI PROGRESS report, setting out an ambitious strategy to improve gender equality in surgery in Ireland. She served as Co-Lead of the National Clinical Programme for Surgery (2017-2024), leading large-scale healthcare improvement programmes in areas such as patient safety, operating theatre efficiency, surgical care pathways and models of care for surgical specialties