ON THE COUCH:Paddy Creedon is chief executive of Euromedic Ireland
Family/personal:
Four children who are now grown up – Keith, Fiona, Brendan and Padraic.
Which living person do you most admire and why?
Seán Kelly, past president of the GAA, for the leadership, determination and also the vision he brought to that organisation.
What do you regard as the top three problems facing Ireland’s health system?
Waiting times (patients have to wait for up to 480 days in some parts of Ireland to attend a consultant outpatient clinic), the lack of joined-up thinking or joined-up health strategies (the patient always seems to come last into the discussion) and, finally, addictions which are the hidden epidemic of the 21st century.
What is your greatest extravagance?
The ties I buy from Louis Copeland.
What is your most unhealthy habit?
Chocolate and fast food.
How do you relax?
Spending time with my two grandchildren.
There is something absolutely magical about storytelling to young children – I am never too sure if it’s me or them who get the most out of the experience.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
In an effort to secure the future of Kerry football, I would invite Miriam O’Callaghan, Rachel English and Marian Finucane to pick the football brains of Mickey Harte, the Tyrone manager who has succeeded in doing a treble over Kerry since 2003.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
That would be seeing my children and, indeed, my grandchildren grow and develop into what they want to be for themselves.
What trait do you most value in your friends?
Integrity.
What talent would you most like to have?
Creativity around writing and cooking.
Do you use alternative/complementary medicines or therapies?
Yes, and I find them to be very helpful.
What is your earliest memory?
Playing football with my late dad in our back garden.
What is your most treasured possession?
Family memories of trips when our own children were younger. Especially the 2,529-mile return drive to Genoa, Italy in 1990 to see Ireland beat Romania in the World Cup.
What other career might you have chosen?
Teaching runs in the family but I would probably end up siding with the students most of the time.
What books or films do you believe have inspired you?
Literature that has inspired me includes Paul Durcan’s The Laughter of Mothers and the poetry of John Keats and Gabriel Fitzmaurice.
I recently watched (for the tenth time) the film Gorillas in the Mist and thoroughly enjoyed it.
In conversation with
Fiona Tyrrell