Mary Coffey Occupation: Director, School of Radiation Therapy, Trinity College Dublin.
Personal/Family: Four children: Mary (28), Jenny (25), Michael (23) and Gerard (20).
What figure from the world of health/medicine do you most admire?
Marie Curie.
What alternative career might you have chosen?
Law.
If you were appointed Minister for Health, what would be your first priority?
To ensure that cancer services in Ireland were optimum.
Do you have a phobia/what is your greatest fear?
Public speaking.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
Yes, and probably not.
What three books would you bring to a desert island?
Wild Swans - three daughters of China, by Jung Chang; A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth and Fortune's Rock by Anita Shreve.
Have you a fail-safe method of dealing with stress?
Relaxing with family and friends with a glass of wine.
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
Casualty.
If you did not live in Ireland, where would you choose to spend the rest of your life?
Leuven, Belgium.
Summarise yourself in 12 words.
Intense, hardworking, light-hearted, caring and devoted to my children and career.
Do you use alternative medicine/therapies?
Not generally.
Who or what makes you laugh?
Dermot Morgan.