The renowned psychiatrist, author and broadcaster Anthony Clare, has died. Prof Clare, who was due to retire from his post as consultant adult psychiatrist at St Edmondsbury hospital, Lucan, in December, died unexpectedly in Paris at the weekend.
A 1966 graduate of University College Dublin, Prof Clare was a former auditor of the university's L and H society. After initial psychiatry training in St Patrick's Hospital, Dublin, he moved to the Institute of Psychiatry, The Maudsley Hospital, in London.
He became deputy director of the general practice research unit at the institute and in 1983 was appointed professor of psychological medicine and head of department at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College, London.
Perhaps best known for his BBC Radio 4 series In the Psychiatrist's Chair, he was hugely respected for his efforts to demystify psychiatry and to open up the area of psychological medicine to public scrutiny.
In the Psychiatrist's Chairspawned three books of the same name. Prof Clare co-wrote Depression and How to Survive itwith Spike Milligan. Psychiatry in Dissentwas an earlier seminal work; more recently he completed On Men: Masculinity in Crisis.
Anthony Clare, who was born in Dublin in 1942 and educated at Gonzaga College, returned to the Republic in 1988.
He was appointed medical director of St Patrick's Hospital and clinical professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin. Following two terms as medical director he moved to St Edmondsbury in Lucan, a unit of St Patrick's Hospital.
Patricia Casey, professor of adult psychiatry at University College Dublin, said last night: "I had developed a great affection for Anthony Clare. He had become a mentor and friend as well as a colleague. I have immense respect for his mind, which was one of the most outstanding in psychiatry. I will miss him deeply."
A fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Prof Clare held a doctorate in medicine and a master's degree in philosophy.
He is survived by his wife, Jane, and seven children: Sebastian, Justine, Sophie, Peter, Eleanor, Simon and Rachel.