Bob Towers:BOB TOWERS, who has died aged 84, was consultant pathologist to St Vincent's hospital, a philatelist, first editor of the Irish Medical Timesand one of the eight founders of the Irish Family Planning Association.
Born in Dublin in 1927, the son of Robert and Marcella (née McGrane), Robert Towers spent his early years in Donegal where his father, a customs official, was stationed. He was educated at the Catholic University School, Leeson Street, but left in his fifth year to pursue private study (he was president of the school union in 1961) before entering the Medical School at UCD.
He graduated MB BCh in 1950 and MD in 1953. After periods in Liverpool and Newcastle he was appointed consultant pathologist to St Vincent’s in 1955, retiring in 1992. Further qualifications came with his FRCPath in 1967 and the FRCPI in 1969.
His professional life was one of unremitting hard work. In addition to his work at St Vincent’s, he served on many committees dealing with various aspects of the medical profession in Ireland. He was a president of the Medico-Legal Society of Ireland, of the Irish Society for Gastroenterology, of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland; he was first dean of the faculty of pathology at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), where he also served as honorary librarian.
He was appointed to Comhairle na h-Oispidéal and served on the Fitness to Practise Committee of the Medical Council. He acted as an external examiner to the Medical School of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and for many years was a judge in the then Aer Lingus Young Scientist of the Year exhibition at the RDS, Dublin.
He set up the first training course for Irish mortuary workers that allowed them to become accredited as well as obtain better benefits, something he was very proud of. As well as lecturing part-time in UCD for some 30 years, he acted as Deputy City Coroner for Dublin for a period.
When the Irish Medical Timeswas established by John O'Connell, he was the first editor, and the weekly production, every Sunday, by heavy two-finger typing, of his editorial, was a family occasion for several years. He was also editor, from 1970 to 1980, of the Irish Journal of Medical Science.
This full professional life was leavened by an active interest in sport, particularly tennis and squash. He captained the UCD tennis team in his latter years as a student. A member of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club for 60 years, he played competitive squash into his 50s and his regular Sunday game with his great friend, the late Kent Maytham, was a feature of the club from the 1960s. He retired from active playing reluctantly in his 82nd year.
He read widely, particularly the military history of the 18th and 19th centuries, and was rarely seen without a book. He could quote at some length from the correspondence of Lyttelton/Hart-Davis and his own epistles were known for their robust style.
Towers was a renowned philatelist, having started a collection as a child, specialising in aspects of the old British Empire. A brisk auctioneer, he served in this role in the Irish Philatelic Society (of which he was a past president) for nearly 40 years. He was a fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society and was its Irish representative.
He ventured into international competitive philately in 1970 winning a bronze medal and subsequently won prizes in Melbourne, Stockholm, Toronto and Wellington, culminating in a gold medal at the 1990 Stamp World exhibition in London. He was a chairman of the Federation of Philatelic Societies of Ireland and served on the Philatelic Advisory Committee of the old Department of Posts and Telegraphs.
He believed firmly in individual freedom and the power of education and there is no doubt that these drove him, with seven colleagues, to make his greatest intervention – at some personal cost – into Irish public life. This was the founding of the Irish Family Planning Association in 1969.
Contraception was illegal in this State and the writ of the Roman Catholic Church ran strong. The broad context of this fight – ultimately successful – is set out in Diarmaid Ferriter's recent book, Occasions of Sin. Towers's position as a doctor working in a Catholic hospital was made occasionally difficult (the other doctors among the founders worked in different environments), but his rigour, his well-expressed, clear beliefs helped see the matter through.
He could be formidable, his quick temper and impatience not too well hidden, though their manifestation was usually quickly regretted. Personally kind and generous, he was a loyal friend and a demanding husband and father: “a singular man” his daughter noted at his funeral service.
In 1954 he married Margaret (Peg) Hart of Cork. She supported him in many of his public activities and provided a home life that enabled him to pursue his profession and many interests. She died in 1998. He is survived by his sister, Pam Robinson, and by his children, Robert, Mark, Helen, Hilary and Susan, and eight grandchildren.
Robert Towers: born 1927; died October 1st, 2010