Prof Mary Horgan named Public Sector Leader of the Year at the Business Post Leadership Awards 2025

Congratulations to UCD School of Medicine’s Professor Mary Horgan on being named Public Sector Leader of the Year at the Business Post Leadership Awards 2025.

In addition to serving as Professor of Infectious Diseases at UCD School of Medicine, Professor Horgan is the interim Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health - Ireland.

Professor Horgan is a national and international leader in medical education and training, in infectious diseases and public health, and has spearheaded medical and scientific education in Ireland.

Previously Dean of the Medical School at University College Cork, she was elected as the first female President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland since its founding in 1654 and was re-elected to a second term in 2020.

She has served as President of the Infectious Diseases Society of Ireland and on the boards of the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, Mercy University Hospital, and the Governing Body of UCC.

She also served on the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), led the expert advisory group on rapid testing, and chaired Ireland’s first National Research Ethics Committee. In November 2023, Professor Horgan was appointed by the Minister for Health to lead the design of a new agency to address emerging health threats. She was awarded the UCD Alumni Award for Health in 2019 and has received several honorary fellowships in recognition of her contributions to medicine.

Shane O'Neill of Grant Thornton Ireland presented the award.